Feeling Overwhelmed

I have written many times that I am the most overworked person in Kever Benjamin City, having lost control of my schedule, projects and the collection of my debts. I was feeling so lonely in my constant state of harassed confusion, because everybody I meet seems so composed, organized, focused and so totally in control.

The NYT reports: "For many young people, serious stress starts before college. The share of students who said on the survey that they had been frequently overwhelmed by all they had to do during their senior year of high school rose to 29 percent from 27 percent last year."

Well, that is OK for the students. They have to learn how to deal with stress, how to cope in modern life. They should feel overwhelmed by the homework we force them to do. On the other hand, we teachers should be allowed to live serene, meditative, worryless lives, writing our embellished memories of how things should have been.