"Excuse me, but, we are learning something here."
I've often thought of my life as being similar to a roller coaster, not just as a reference to its severe ups and downs and twists and turns, but also to the voluntary aspect of it. We get on them on purpose to experience the rush, and I've often been similarly accused of doing things for the thrill, for something to write about.These days, the roller coaster metaphor doesn't quite work, as the present ups and downs can't be considered a voluntary thing. Not even the overloaded extracurricular schedule, which is as much a coping mechanism as anything else. When…