hello blogging world,
here I am!
I'd like to introduce myself a little, but I don't want to waste too much time or space. So here goes:

I am Rachel. I am a student
                                              a daughter
                                                                            a friend
                                                                                        an English Major
                                                                                                                                          a sister
and also a movie-watcher, an ice-cream-eater,
a reader, a smiler, a mystery.

Bottom line (but not for this post, at least):
I am me. And I am here!
Anyway.

I'm taking Classic Civilization 101 (Or 110, I don't really remember) this semester. Most times it feels like the two credit overload I really don't need at all. But other times, like yesterday, I realize that this class is shaping me into a member of society, cultured and ready to send my voice out among the myriads of voices in the world.
This class is an Introduction to Ancient Greek and Roman Literature. Yesterday, the assignment was to read
Georgics IV by Virgil. Yes, the translation we read was REALLY (yeah, REALLY) bad, but if this class has taught me anything, it's that Greek women scorned are horrendously vengeful, and that there is a way to discover and retain an overarching story idea in a bad translation.
The first half of Georgics IV is the description of a colony of bees.
The second half is the story of Orpheus and Eurydices. This story, for some reason, has always struck me. I'll give a little rendition of it, just for those of you who don't know what the heck is going on:

Once upon a time, there was a guy, and there was a girl (Guy: Orpheus, Girl: Eurydices). They were in love, deeply--you know how these Greek stories go. But unfortunately, Eurydices died, and Orpheus was left heartbroken.
Orpheus had a hard time letting Eurydices go, so he traveled to the underworld to beg Pluto and Proserpine (Hades and Persephone) to let her go. They agreed, under the condition that he was not allowed to look at her as he led  her to the surface. Of course, he looks back just before reaching the surface, and she is sucked back under forever.
The end.
This story makes me wonder about life. Do things run in absolutes like that? Could I lose everything precious to me after one fatal mistake? Is there ever a point when I've lost my chance to happiness? Lost my chance at redemption? My chance for forgiveness?
My whole goal in life is to someday be happy forever, surrounded by those I love. Can I ever really lose my grip on that goal?

Food for thought.