Classics - Blog Posts

“The Haunting of Hill House” Book Review

It starts the quote “whatever walked there, walked alone”. This quote somehow seems to explain the whole story, right? The book wasn’t something I had expected. It deals with mental horror more than it deals with the ghostly horror which was not something I had expected though I knew there would be something psychological to it.

 It starts with Eleanor going to the Hill House by getting an invitation from Dr. Montague. The descriptions added about the town downstream the Hill house were like something we expect from a typical haunted house story. However, I too enjoyed the journey of Eleanor going to the Hill House, the writing was very effective in that part. The atmosphere inside the Hill house which has been described made me feel suffocated. The Hill house was described to consist of different rooms with different colours of the rainbow but still very dark and deep, just to think about this it feels like nature is against lighting the house. All through the book, Hill house did not only spread horror, it also had spread hatred, loathing, jealousy and suspicion. But at some points, I felt that though Hill house was disastrous, Hill house was also their comfort zone to an extent. One very disagreeable thing about the book is that it’s very draggy. You’ll have already gone through almost 2/3 of the book but you’d feel nothing major is happening actually. I would have liked it better if it did contain a bit more things going on. 

 Now, talking about “The Haunting of Hill House” means talking about the characters of the book. The protagonist is of course Eleanor and everything is about her. Her life seems really boring which needed excitement and hence the decision of going to the Hill house has arisen and she was genuinely happy to go there. She is very imaginative and keeps imagining a lot of stuff at the time of the journey. She is actually very insecure and an overthinker. She always keeps thinking about what her mother says or how she would have reacted in all of the situations. I felt like she had been controlled by her mother for the whole time. She troubles herself in every small matter. She is very pathetic and desperate which is very normal for her as she was brought up very strictly. And then comes Theodora. She is a chill kinda person who also seems to like excitement. One of the lines from the book is very appropriate as it has described the characteristics of both Eleanor and Theodora, “Theodora’s face was stiff and sulky, she likes attention, Eleanor without thinking, moved and sat on the floor beside Theodora.” Dr. Montague was the most adventurous among them. The only thing I want to say about Luke is that he is a flirt.

 Jackson’s writing style is very simple and easy to understand. She added many small details to make the hill house appear scarier and darker. But I did not like the style of her writing in case of conversations. It was messy with a disturbing flow which lacked smoothness.

This was all about the book. I enjoyed it though my expectation was a bit higher.

“A Christmas Carol” Book Review

“A Christmas Carol”! What a wonderful story! I never thought this book to be this humorous and heart- warming at the same time. Dickens was a great writer indeed. This book has every Christmas vibes to it  starting from presents to foods and family time. 

I was really impressed to find out how the story proceeds. Particularly, how Scrooge was learning and realizing how he should have treated people on the basis of what he had experienced in the past. I felt like sometimes we ought to see things with our own eyes to feel it, to believe it. The story has an interesting way to teach us humanity and humanitarian activities. 

And what can I say about Scrooge? He was such a miser. I felt like there was no juice of life left in him in the beginning. But he was definitely not like him in the past. Loneliness and childhood trauma make people feelings-less and hard. So was the case with him.

I was impressed with this book. Highly recommend it. Perfect for the Christmas!!

“Dune” Book Review

“Dune” by Frank Herbert is very much enjoying literally from the very beginning. I have soo much to say about this book. No wonder why people still call it a classic. I would say, it is in fact one of the best sci-fi book ever. 

The novel is super fast and highly paced. I never thought I would enjoy a book full of fights and adventures this much. This book hit totally different. In fact, it is also very dramatic. I felt like I was watching a soap opera TV series. In some parts I constantly had to remind myself that I was reading a sci-fi book! I loved the beginning of every chapter which contains a little extract from different writings about Mua’dib and Arrakis by Princess Irulan.

The inner thinking of the characters and what is going on in their minds in every little matter have been explained in the book and it is one of the best parts of it. I loved some of the Bene Gesserit ways very much. They really do have some productive plans which I think is very hard yet very powerful to stay calm and clean in difficult situations. We actually need to get adapted to some of those techniques. One of the great motives of the Bene Gesserit that I liked and Paul & Jessica kept adapting throughout the whole book was ‘I must not fear, Fear is the mind killer”. The mother-son relationship between Jessica and Paul is complicated yet very understanding. I liked the struggle they had together over the dune. Those parts were hard in one way and peaceful in another because they at least had each other. I also loved Paul & Chani together soo much.

Now, I shall talk about some of the characters. Paul is a great observant. He is very curious about everything. The sudden change that happened in Paul was so perfect at least in that disastrous situation.  Jessica is a great mother and protector. She tries to protect Paul from troubles and she is extra careful. There is a strong feminine pride in the reverend mother’s voice. One of her quotes was really good, like “ Humans are almost always lonely”. 

Frank Herbert was definitely a brilliant man with a good fold of knowledge. He was well informed and knows a lot. he created the whole universe fantastically. The descriptions, the rules and rituals of the fremen community is insanely good. one of the sayings of “Dune” is my absolute favorite which is “God created Arrakis to train the faithful”. 

One complain that I have about the book is, there was definitely a need of more female developed and powerful characters other than Jessica. And certainly I didn’t like some of the fremen ways of treating women. So, in a sense, “Dune” is back dated at least while mentioning the feminine situations. 

Overall, the book is crazy. The time when I was reading it, I just kept thinking about it all day and night. It is very catchy and keeps giving you glimpses of scenes even when you aren’t reading it. I loved it and can’t wait for the movie. Absolutely worth the hype.  

“To Kill a Mockingbird” Book Review

“To kill a Mockingbird” is not like other classics. Many of us think that classics are usually big and a bit boring. But this novel is not at all like this. It is soo good and enjoyable from the very beginning. The writing style of Harper Lee is very natural and understanding. 

The novel has represented many matters of the society very clearly through a young girl’s eyes. Many discriminatory factors of the society has been discussed thoroughly. This is a very simple novel but the simplicities are explained seriously. In fact, the whole novel is very pleasant to read and it has soo many details in it. 

The society of the Maycomb County is an interesting one though in a peculiar way because everyone knows about other other people’s every business. Even Jem and Scout know very little affairs of others like who’s loosing his third teeth which is really funny. 

The characters in this book is well described. I obviously loved the character of “Atticus”. It seems soo good that almost like every interesting character in any good novel is a reader. He is a great father and adviser as well. I am really proud that he is also a fellow INFJ! Some of his quotes are really mesmerizing. One of them is like” Before I can live with other folks, I’ve got to live with myself”. Another one is “A gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they’re still human”. He is great teacher and this thing that he literally shares many of his experiences and many other good things about people to his children and that is what making his children so smart and brave. 

I adore the relationship between Scout and Calpurnia. I have also loved some of the Cal’s dialogues like “It’s the same God, ain’t it?” And about Scout I would say, She is really and extraverted girl. And, the brother-sister relationship between Jem and Scout is very sweet. One of the Jem’s dialogue is strong too like “Clowns are sad, it’s folks that laugh at them”. One of the best part of the book is Scout, Jem and Dill’s acting of different plays as summer games. 

I can’t complete this review without mentioning one of the Tom Robinson’s dialogue. The most touchy one is “I’s scared I’d be in court, just like I am now”. Even Mr. Ewell’s character didn’t seems that bad. After all, he was a war veteran and never learned any behaviors so he obviously has his reasons to behave the ways he behaves. 

Now. I will talk about some of the scenarios I have loved. Like I have enjoyed the church part.  I have never been to any church. So the scenery was new to me and hence was a new experience. The court scene was great too. I have made another new experience regarding the court stuffs. This scene was explained with details and it was really easy to get along with. Some small details of the book is soo good that I really can’t bus just appreciate them. Like, in the court scene, in the middle of this serous event, Scout (as she is a child) didn’t even forget to tell Dill to have a look at the judge who was smoking cigar in his peculiar way. As they are kids, of course they will be noticing and enjoying these little things more. Overall, the scenes in the novel are explained very distinctly which make the novel very atmospheric. 

Reading the book, I have realized that it isn’t actually only about discrimination that occurs in the society but also mostly about how we tend to judge people outwardly. Every person is very different on the inside that we don’t seem to know by knowing them outwardly. I would definitely recommend this atmospheric, natural book to everyone irrespective of age. 

‘Pride and Prejudice’ Book Review

‘Pride and Prejudice’ is a beautiful book which is hilariously written. It is a very social novel. The different matters of society explained in this novel is very much relatable to my own society. The errors and doings of the society then has been shown hilariously. The whole novel was arranged systemically and has represented the situations of women in the society. 

I enjoyed the conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Bennets in the first chapter. It represents how passionate the mothers were (still are in some societies) to get their daughters married to any fortunate, wealthy men. And the mothers kept competing with the others of their kind for this reason. And it was also not very uncommon that as much as they were in favor of those wealthy men, they were also very suspicious of them in every little matter. 

There is soo much things to say about the plot of the novel but i am afraid that i am going to spoil it and I want to keep my review spoiler free as much as possible. thus explaining this book is actually explaining the characters I think.

The character ‘Elizabeth’ reminds me of the character ‘Jo March’ from ‘Little Women’. She is very sensible woman.

Mr. Darcy isn’t the particular kind of hero that I like but certainly his character is very interesting. He is a great critics that I must admit. Some mechanical conversations of Mr. Darcy made me laugh. At first it seemed to me that there was a great change in Mr. Darcy’s character and disposition after falling in love with Elizabeth. Then I realized maybe those were always there but only concealed and waiting for a chance to be shown to only his dearest one and none else. Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s characters are similar as both of them are somewhat really awkward in front of the society and that is one of the best part of the novel other than the social humors.

To me the character of Mrs. Bennet is very funny. But the character of Miss Bingley is the funniest and was soo much needed in the book.

I disliked the character of Mr. Collins. He seems to me that kind of person who lacks individuality of his own. Lady Catherine is just the kind of old lady who interferes in almost every business of other people. 

The character Jane is soo sympathetic and kind. The part where jane’s mental condition was emotionally unstable was really touching. The relationship between Jane and Elizabeth is soo sweet and it is kind of like the relationship between me and my sister. They share each others happiness and sorrows soo comfortably. 

Mary is a bookish nerd which I liked very much. She is literally out of everything but her books. But she is a little bit inattentive towards her family but that’s okay because she has her own mechanical way of thinking. Lydia is very cheerful, talkative and silly. Kitty’s and Lydia’s character in the book were almost the same.

This novel perfectly represents some states of human behavior such as agitation other than Pride and Prejudice of course. I highly recommend this book to everyone because this novel is so natural and relatable. But the plot and the matters happening in this novel are a little bit plainer. The story is little shorter and limited. I expected some more side plots. But in the whole, the novel is very good and it felt soo realistic to me.

‘Battle of Troy’ Based on Troy (2004) movie

Troy is an ancient city situated on the northeast coast of Turkey. The Trojan war is a famous war, held between Troy and Sparta in Greek mythology. Homer was an author who had written one of the greatest epic poem in history named ‘Iliad’. The Trojan war was fully described in the ‘Iliad’. A brief history of Trojan war according to Troy movie (2004) is described below:

Troy was a peaceful country. Priam was the king of Troy who was very benevolent. Priam had two notable sons and they were- Hector and Paris. Hector was the greatest warrior in the Trojan army. He was a great leader, son and father. Paris was very attractive and lovable. But he wasn’t as much responsible as his elder brother Hector. On the other hand, Sparta was another ancient city in Greece. Sparta was an imoportant site in Mycenae. Mycenaean period was the most powerful period then. Menelaus was the Spartan king. Menelaus’s elder brother Agamemnon was the king of Mycenae. Agamemnon was a powerful warrior but not a good person. Menelaus was mostly a follower of his elder brother but was not as victorious as his brother. Menelaus was married to Helen, who was a beautiful lady. Helen never loved Menelaus and neither did he. Achilles was the bravest and best warrior of Sparta. Achilles was strong and careless.

Once Spartan king Menelaus invited Trojan princes Hector and Paris and were making a peaceful treaty between sparta and Troy. There, Paris fell in love with Helen and so did she. But Helen told Paris that she couldn’t be with him as she was married to Menelaus. paris made a plan to be with Helen. The next day Hector and Paris left for Troy and paris according to his plan smuggled Helen to Troy. In the middle of the journey, Paris showed Helen to Hector and explained about their affair. Hector felt embarraced of Paris. But consequently Paris convinced Hector and finally took Helen to Troy.

Meanwhile, Agamemnon and Menelaus discovered the runaway of Helen with Paris. Menelaus became furious and told Agamemnon that he wanted a revenge. Agamemnon liked that and planned to attack Troy and control the most important coastal city of Asia. Then Agamemnon commanded all the kings of Greece to gather their armies against Troy. And as Troy was a very powerful city, Agamemnon wanted to hire Achilles, the best warrior. As achilles wanted to be remembered in the history, he joined the war between Troy and Sp[arta with his young cousin Patroclus.

Hector and Paris arrived at Troy with Helen. Priam, king of Troy accepted Helen wisely as his daughter in law and named her ‘Helen of Troy. The next day Spartan army arrived at the beach of Troy and began to destroy the apollo temples of Troy. There, Briseis, cousin of Hector and Paris was praying.Achilles took Briseis and returned to the Spartan camp. agamemnon wanted to have Briseis but Achilles protested and there created a feud between them. So Achilles denied to go to the battle next day.

The next day Paris challenged Menelaus. There held a duel between them. Paris used the sword of Troy in the battle. But as Paris was very weak and he had never been to any battle, Menelaus easily took away Paris’s shield. Menelaus injured Paris in the thigh and he fell to his knees and scrawled to his brother and could not stand back again. Hector caught hold of Paris and disagreed with Menelaus and Agamemnon tom let Paris return to the battle again. Menelaus became violent saying that the rules of war had been violeted and attemted to kill Paris. Then Hector killed Menelaus immediately. Agamemnon became shocked at his brother’s sudden death and ordered the Greek armies to attack Trojans then and then. Then a great fight betweeen trojan and Greek started. In the fight Hector killed one of the powerful warrior of Grreek, Ajax. After that Greek army soon returned to their ships. Trojan King Priam started to gather his councilors to plan about attacking the Greeks. The Trojan armies were very good at archeries. So, Priam ordered his archers to attack the Greeks in the next day at day break. The Trojan archers threw flame arrows to the Greek camps. And then Hector and his armies surronded the Greek camp and attacked the Greeks. Then Patroclus was in the armor of Achilles to inspire the Greek armies as Achilles denied to fight. Hector thought Patroclus to be Achilles and killed him. When he removed the helmet, he realized that the one he killed wasn’t Achilles but his cousin Patroclus. Achilles heard about the death of his cousin and became raged in anger.

The next day Achilles challenged Hector for a dual. Hector got prepared for the battle. Hector was sure of his demise and so he in the previous night showed his wife Andromache a secret tunnel out of Troy. He also told her to rescue as much Trojans as she could when there would be a full battle in the city of Troy. 

There held a great dual between Achilles and Hector. Both of them were so courageous and strong. But eventually Achilles killed Hector and took his body with him to the Greek camp. At this Praim got hurt. So, in the middle of the night, Priam went to the Greek camp in disguise and rerquested Achilles to return his son’s death body to him as his son deserved an honour of proper burial. achilles was pleased with the courage of Priam and returned his son’s body and Briseis to Priam and told him that Hector was the best warrior Achilles ever fighted. And then Achilles announced a 12 days off of the battle for Hector’s funeral. Agamemnon became angry at that. At that time Odysseus, king of Ithaca, planned to build a great Trojan horse and told Agamemnon that they could attack troy by hiding in that horse.

The Trojan thought the Trojan horse to be a blessing from the sea God Poseidon ans accepted that. At the dead of the night, The Greeks came out of the horse and began to destroy Troy. At that time, Hector’s wife Andromache led Paris and otherTrojans through the secret tunnel. Paris left Helen telling that he would come with Briseis and went to find Briseis. On the other hand, Achilles kept searching the Troy for Briseis as he fell in love with her. Priam watched the Greeks destroying all the Trojan religiousa datatues and claimed that Greeks had no respect for the God. Then,Agamemnon killed Praimand caught hold of Briseis and tried to enslave her. But at that time, Briseis killed Agamemnon with a blade she was hiding in her back. Then Achilles came running and found Brisies there. Paris found them both, shooted Achilles with arrows several times in the heels and killed him. Briseis burst into tears but Paris took her with him and left for the tunnel out of Troy. At last Odysseus found Achilles’s body and arranged a funeral for him.

The battle of troy was a great battle but none of the side won the battle as both of the king got  killed. The beautiful city Of Troy got destroyed because of jealousy, stubbornness and love.

‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ book review

‘The picture of Dorian Gray’ is literally a masterpiece. I was thrilled to read this novel. Surely it is the best work of Wilde. It is a different kind of novel. The story is fascinating.

Dorian Gray is the lead character of the novel. He himself is the hero and the villain. He is a young, charismatic chap who can’t help loving himself. Here narcissism is seen in Dorian Gray’s character. Being an over narcissist, Dorian also becomes totally self-absorbed eventually. He becomes wicked day by day and it all happens because of the change in the portrait of his which was drawn by one of his best mate.

The words of this novel are very strong and hypnotic. They make you forget the world you belong to and take you right to the Victorian era. The novel is full of great literary references and is explained in an artistic way which is different from the usual.

I really loved the ending. It was like there could not be any perfect ending except for Dorian’s demise. I definitely recommend everyone to read this masterpiece at least once.

Little Women Book Review

This book is a masterpiece and I think one of the best books in the entire world.  The book teaches us how to be happy with what we got. The March sisters are happy with their lives. They have the true happiness in their lives because they share literally everything with their family. This book is a periodical drama book. It’s time period was during the civil war in America. The head of the family, ‘Mr. March” joined army. The book represented the family situation during that time. There are four March sisters. They are Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Each of them consists of different characteristics. Together they help their mother to overcome their father’s absence and help each other to handle their family works. During this time they also learn how to be theirselves.

The March sisters are some of my most favourite characters of all time. I want to describe their unique characteristics.

1. Meg: Meg is beautiful, fashionable and caring. She cares for her family very much. She is very much respoinsible and protective. The only thing that sometimes disturbs Meg is her obsession with luxury and fashion. Despite that she is always ready to accpet what she has been given.

2. Jo: Jo is damn caring type of girl. She is the heart of the March family. She knows the best of every member of the March family. I personally think that Jo is an icon for the feminist. She loves to read and write. She is very much desperate to hold her family together. Books and family are everything Jo cares about.  She is the kind of girl who wont give up anything easily. She is a strong spirited girl.

3. Beth: Beth is my personal favourite among the March sisters. Beth is the calm and quite one. She has love for music. She loves her family more than anything. She is the most optimistic one. She is shy but whenever she becomes friendly with anyone she would be the best companion to him/her. She is literally ready to give away everything she has for the loved ones.

4. Amy: Amy is the youngest one. She has aspirations for arts and paintings. She is a little bit stubborn like her sister Jo and that is why oftewn they two have little sisters fighting. Amy is very much ambitious to achieve her goal. She is the one who thinks further more than the present. 

However the book gives us many messages about the conditions of the women then. Through Jo March’s character we can learn that girls are not confined within anything. Girls can do anything if they have the real aspirations to that. This book also teaches us that family and the bondage between the family members are what worth living for.  This is the kind of book which everyone should read atleast once in his/her life.

Achilles

I

To them I am the brute not the lover

The raging king’s hound, his gold spear – death’s kiss

Was this the way, was there no other?

II

History, prayèrs did try to cover –

Those violent delights, and that violent bliss

- To them I am the brute not the lover.

III

Yet, if time would but only uncover

Those extra curves of your smiles that they miss – I miss.

Was this the way – was there no other?

IV

If the Prince of Troy did not hover over

My mind and your ghost – in debt to the Styx –

To them I am the brute not the lover!

V

They forget romeo, the pre-mover;

Was it for this you died, was it for this?

Alas, I am the brute. Not your lover.

Was this the way? Was there no other?

"Achilles" by Sadbh Kellett. First published in The Attic XX, 2017.

Snow falling, bittersweetness, dancing in the dark on nimble feet, stillness and unsettling quiet with your mind beginning to become curious

Classic Book Recommendations For Each Hogwarts House

Gryffindor

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Henry V by William Shakespeare

Beowulf

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Histories by Herodatus

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

Hufflepuff

East of Eden by John Stenbeck

Othello by William Shakespeare

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Love In the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

White Fang by Jack London

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Ravenclaw

Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Odyssey by Homer

Middlemarch by George Eliot

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Slytherin

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Plantasia (Back Cover Illustration) Mort Garson

Do you know how it feels to hold your happiness in your hands and watch it swirl there in a pool of golden light before the night comes and snatches it away from your bleeding hands only to leave you wondering why it suddenly feels like your throat is burning when all you ever did was take a sip from your lover's lips ?

Hi all, here are some Diotima quotes from Plato’s Symposium that are making me lose my mind at 2 am. All quotes are from the Cambridge University Press (2008) Translation.

genres i'm tired of:

"feminist retellings" of stories that can already be considered feminist in their own right

"feminist retellings" that fumble the "feminist" plotline so bad it just turns misogynistic

"feminist retellings" that still center around and hinge on men

"feminist retellings" written by people who don't understand what feminism is

when virginia woolf said "who shall measure the heat and violence of the poet's heart when caught and tangled in a woman's body?" i felt it in the deepest corners of my soul i didn't even know existed.

i just want to read every book ever written in the language it was originally written in. is that too much to ask for?

As a communist, leisure is something I find especially sacred. No matter what area a person finds fascinating, I believe that person should have the right to indulge in it (given it is harmless). The pure idea of a world in which an inspiring historian has to sit at a desk and click on buttons to survive sickens me, let alone the reality of it. As long as you can, especially if you are young enough -

Read that Wikipedia article.

Analyse those films.

Learn that instrument.

There is a reason all my post end with

Stay yourself, Stay curious.

I love you people going into "useless" fields I love you classics majors I love you cultural studies majors I love you comparative literature majors I love you film studies majors I love you near eastern religions majors I love you Greek, Latin, and Hebrew majors I love you ethnic studies I love you people going into any and all small field that isn't considered lucrative in our rotting capitalist society please never stop keeping the sacred flame of knowledge for the sake of knowledge and understanding humanity and not merely for the sake of money alive

* Me phoning my best friend *

Her : MAY I PLEASE INFODUMP ON ALBERT CAMUS TO YOU

Stay yourself, stay curious

“These violent delights have violents ends. And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which, as they kiss, consume.”

- Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Frankenstein but it’s just Victor being depressed because he realizes his entire life is his fault:

- William Shakespeare, Hamlet

“Let be not a tragedy worse than that of mine own nature/For woe shall thy heart beat only for thine affection/Oh cursed beauty thou art the artist of my pain/Love lives not in thy body but in mine soul for shall I devote my every breath to thee”

“i will live a hundred lifetimes if it means that in one of them i can sit beside you and- even if just for a moment- know that you are mine.”

“then let this be the hundredth one and no more- for there is no life of mine where you are not beside me.”

“there must be another way, another ending to this madness.”

“but oh how I’ve dreamt of it this way.”

everyday my mind spirals more and more with my passion for greek mythology, ancient history, and literature <3

“We men are wretched things”

- Homer, The Iliad

- Billy Joel, Vienna

In honor of school starting back up for many of you, a gentle reminder that it is okay to be scared and anxious, just slow down and know you’re going to be alright

-unknown