Math as a religion, and Matters of Consequence

So... in a conversation with a friend, ranting about finals, I came to this conclusion:

[8:46:39 PM] Jessie: i've determined calculus is a religion
[8:46:47 PM] Jessie: which all people who love math blindly follow
[8:46:48 PM] Jessie: its like
[8:46:56 PM] Jessie: the scientology of all school subjects

With that out of the way, I have friends who will spend a half hour trying to solve one math problem.  Just one problem.  That's how convoluted it is.  And they think its great.  Do they know why they're doing it? Does it unravel the mysteries of the universe?  Nope.  But they do it anyways.  Its just completely beyond me.  I feel like calculus is just one of those things that people consider to be a matter of consequence when it really isn't.  At all.

Speaking of matters of consequence, I was reading The Little Prince today, and I realized that I have become consumed by what adults deem matters of consequence.  And its driving me crazy.  I don't WANT to be concerned with the matters of consequence that are of no consequence at all.  So I've determined I'm just going to try my hardest at calc and chem and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out, its all imaginary anyways, right?  Sorry I keep bringing up the same thing over and over guys, but calc and chem are a major source of stress in my life right now because they DONT MAKE SENSE and I have a whole 'nother semester of the both of them to go, and I need to get them over and done with ((WHO THE HELL DECIDED I NEED CALCULUS TO OBSERVE NATURE ANYWAYS?! Who has the right to tell me I have to waste a whole year on something that WILL drive me crazy?)) so I can get to the stuff I love i.e. playing with plants and germs and microscopes and memorizing EVERYTHING that has to do with LIFE and other matters of consequence. The important kind. The kind that make the stars twinkle.

I mean really, aren't actual matters of consequence the things that make you happy?  That perfect line in a song?  The friends you can depend on no matter what?  Those moments that just make you smile?  Ridiculous jokes and laughing till you cry?  Sense of adventure?  That perfect view that fills you with a sense of you don't even know what but it wasn't there prior to looking at that sight?  Open roads?  Rolling fields?  Mountain views?

I need more of those moments in my life.  And I'm determined to find them.

He was really very angry. He tossed his golden curls in the breeze.

"I know a planet where there is a certain red-faced gentleman.  He has never smelled a flower.  He has never looked at a star.  He has never loved anyone.  He has never done anything in his life but add up figures.  And all day he says over and over, just like you: 'I am busy with matters of consequence!'  And that makes him swell up with pride. But he is not a man - he is a mushroom!"

"A what?"

"A mushroom!"
The little prince was now white with rage.
"The flowers have been growing thorns for millions of years.  For millions of years the sheep have been eating them just the same.  And is it not a matter of consequence to try to understand why the flowers go to so much trouble to grow thorns which are never of any use to them?  Is the warfare between the sheep and the flowers not important?  Is this not of more consequence than a fat red-faced gentleman's sums?  And if I know - I myself - one flower which is unique in the world, which grows nowhere but on my planet, but which one little sheep can destroy in a single bite some morning, without even noticing what he is doing - Oh!  You think that is not important!"
His face turned from white to red as he continued:
"If someone loves a flower of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars.  He can say to himself: 'Somewhere, my flower is there...'  But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened . . .  And you think that is not important!" 

pages later....

[the red-faced gentleman] "As for me, I am concerned with matters of consequence.  There is no time for idle dreaming in my life."

The Little Prince - Antoine DeSaint-Exupery

Read The Little Prince. Seriously. I will personally mail you a copy if you don't believe what a life-changing book it is.  I've determined I don't want to end up like the red-faced gentleman. I want time in my life for idle dreaming.  I don't want to be forever counting stars thinking I can own them but never seeing them for what they truly are.  I want to look at the stars and know that somewhere out there my friends and family who mean the world to me are also out there under those stars.  I don't want work and terrible requirements and frustrating things to take over my world.  I want to be able to do those things that make life worth living.  I have a list started somewhere of all the things I should do at some point, that may or may not end up on here.  We'll see.


So if you read this please immediately stop concerning yourself with matters of consequence and go find something truly beautiful to appreciate, if only for a few minutes.  Just take the little prince's advice and realize that there are more important things in the world than whatever has you stressed out.

All the love in the universe,
Jessie

I wanna stand up.  I wanna let go.  You know, you know, no, you don't, you don't.  I wanna shine on in the hearts of man.  I wanna mean it from the back of my broken hand. - The Killers