An' de walls came tumblin' down

When you reach the end, start again.

I’ve been reading about acrostics here. And writing some:

• Me?
  I’m
  Really
  In
  A
  Marsh

• My body relaxes to the pleasant,
  Undulating tones.
  Suddenly, a clash of cymbals, a burst of trumpets.
  Is something the matter?
  Calm returns with the strings.

• Can I do it?
  Have I the stamina to stick to it for
  A whole month?
  Lovely idea, but is it possible for
  Little me?
  Every letter in the alphabet?
  Never skipping one? Not even X?
  Go for it!
  Elation!

Thank you for following my A to Z Challenge. I’ve enjoyed it.

(continued from yesterday)

Is life a zig-zag path, with many diversions but always leading to your destination?

Zig-Zag Path, Bournemouth

Yes – that’s it.

Please return tomorrow…

Is life a yoyo with its ups and downs, a game that we eventually lose when we can’t rise up any more?

Or… (continued tomorrow)

I’m ashamed to say that, despite having a degree in Maths, I remember very little of it now. But one thing I remember is that x is the first unknown factor in an equation.

In the equation of our lives, the unknown factor is the future. We don’t know what will happen to us. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying to influence it. And somewhere in my future, I am going to make lots and lots of people aware of social anxiety.

I hope that starts soon … now?

What would you think if you saw a grown man hugging a teddy bear in a train? Would you think it was weird? What would you do about it?

I would think it was weird. I would wonder what problems this man has that cause him to do something most adults grew out of long ago. I certainly wouldn’t do anything. Why should I?

Someone in the train with this man hit the teddy in the face. The man burst out crying.

The man suffers from acute anxiety. In this case, his anxiety was intensified by the fact that the train was delayed at a station for nine minutes. Why? I don’t know. I don’t know enough to even attempt to understand. When his anxiety escalates, it comforts him to hug the teddy.

Why do people who don’t understand have to interfere? Why can’t they leave others alone?

I learned to play the violin when I was a child. I was quite good at it. I passed exams and became the leader of my school orchestra. I haven’t played for ages. Perhaps I should. It would be hard but enjoyable, I think.

If I’d got round to scanning in the photos I acquired recently, I could have posted one of me playing the violin. Time to get started on that, too.

Are there any activities you’d like to take up again?

“The best years of your life.” Is that how you view university? Wild parties? Getting drunk? Leaving studying for all-nighters?

That wasn’t my experience. But I still enjoyed my three years at uni. I was lucky enough to find some real friends for the first time in my life. I’m still in touch with them.

Many students with social anxiety have a terrible time at uni. I know that because I’ve been on social anxiety forums where they write about their troubles. They’re shunned by fellow students and spend their time alone in their rooms. They worry themselves sick when they have to give a presentation. Many of them drop out.

It seems such a shame. If only they could get some help, their university experiences would be infinitely better.

I wrote this comment recently on Catdownunder’s blog when she wrote about the joys of Twitter:

When you suffer from social anxiety, Twitter gives you an opportunity to feel as competent as the people you’re chatting to. Well, almost.

Almost, because I still worry that what I write doesn’t really express what I want to say. Or that what I write could be deemed rude or weird or something else I don’t intend. Or that the person I’m chatting with doesn’t really want to chat with me. So I often take too long to reply.

But yes, I like Twitter, and Facebook, and emails, and blog comments. I like the interaction that I miss or struggle with in the real world.

Spring has Sprung.
The Sun is Shining.
Songs make me Smile.
I’m Stuck with SA.

Well, nothing’s perfect, but mostly things are Satisfactory. Sometimes they’re even Super and Splendid.

See you tomorrow with T for terrible… tragic… troubled. Or none of those.

During the two years I’ve been blogging, I’ve posted a few rhymes which you can see by clicking the Rhymes category on the right.

Most of them were just a bit of fun. Only one of them really says something. In fact, it says it all:

The voice in my head shouts out loud,
But its sound isn’t heard by the rest of the crowd.
The voice in my head speaks in no tongue,
And yet its caustic words have stung.
The voice in my head says I’m stupid and dumb.
The voice in my head says I interest no one.
I try to tell it it’s got it all wrong,
But the voice in my head just sounds the gong.
“Go back,” it says, “And hide away.
Nobody wants to hear you today.”