Of spring and strawberries

Today was my first real day back to school after a 2 week long spring break. I was glad to see my classmates again and, although it is unfortunate, I was relieved to find that I am not the only one who has found it hard to get her brain back into productivity mode. Spring break is the cruelest reward. The air is fresh with the scent of blooming flowers, the sun is warm, and the birds are alive with song. After a nice relaxing break in such an atmosphere, the lastthing on my mind is the many papers I must read and write before the semester ends in just one month!

A friendly girl in my class today remarked that I smelled like the strawberries on my sweater. It was such a nice comment, both in the sense that it is a pleasant thing to be told and because it is the type of thing we usually think to ourselves and do not share with others, especially not the ones with whom it concerns. Every time this girl speaks, it is like you are granted a glance into her mind; her speech, I think, is the closest auditory language to what Steven Pinker calls "mentalese"--the language of thought. Raw, sincere, pure.