Mental Health Week

I've declared this week Matt Peyton Mental Health Week. (I was going to add the word "national" in there to make it sound more official, but I didn't really want to steal the thunder from any other people named Matt Peyton.) Anyway, allow me to explain why I needed this holiday.\nI'm going insane.\nReally, that about sums it up. You see, last semester I had a pretty light course load and this semester is, well, quite frankly kicking me in the face. \nNow, it's been a slow descent into mental instability over the past few weeks. It started with excess exhaustion. Next it moved into a bit of forgetfulness (I lost my cell phone while I was talking on it). Finally, I knew it was time to take a break when I totally got freaked out the other day walking through the Arboretum (which, by the way, I think is a made-up word).\nI was walking from the Union to the Career Development Center amid the usual flow of students going to and from classes. I found myself following a pretty big guy wearing a leather jacket and some hardcore-looking rock 'n' roll T-shirt.\nI don't normally remember what people are wearing, but this guy kept turning around and looking over his shoulder, first at me and then at the crowd in general. I only noticed because it happened like five times in a couple minutes.\nIt was obvious he was a little paranoid about something, but the weird thing is that soon, I began feeling paranoid, too. \nNow, obviously paranoia is not contagious, but I kept thinking to myself, "If this guy's afraid of someone sneaking up behind him, why aren't I afraid too?"\nAnd I swear, for the rest of the walk, the girl in the green jacket walking behind me was staring at me (in a menacing way, not the good way).\nI realize now how silly it all sounds, but hey, it's not called Mental Health Week for nothing.\nSo, how does one feign off impending madness, you ask? First, it means skipping a few classes. Not all of them, just a couple of strategically placed ones. I really don't feel too bad about this since I've made it almost a month without skipping a single class.\nAlso, I've decided to get some more sleep. A problem with this goal presented itself the other night, though, when I dreamed about writing a paper.\nI'm not just talking about writing the paper. I dreamed about the research, the quotations, bibliography and even getting a paper cut turning it in. And you know what really sucks? I had to rewrite that paper when I woke up.\nSo, if others find themselves in a similar situation this week, or if you have any symptoms of insanity that I didn't mention, feel free to claim this as your own personal Mental Health Week as well.\nTake some time off, get some rest and just enjoy this wonderful February weather. \nThe way I see it, your neurosis might last forever but this heat wave certainly won't.