decisions

Today was my first day of classes, complete with riding the bus to school......and though it was a very, VERY long day, and I am exhausted, I feel pretty good about it. My work is definitely cut out for me this semester, and if I think too long about it, I'm a little overwhelmed. But I just won't think about it. 

In other news, Christina Applegate, who is 36 years old, went public with the news that she had a double mastectomy three weeks ago and will undergo reconstruction over the next 8 months. Her breast cancer was caught early through a doctor-ordered MRI because of her mother's breast cancer history, and only in one breast, but she elected for a prophylactic double mastectomy because she tested positive for the BRCA 1 mutation. Personally, I think her decision was a brave one, and when faced with a life-threatening situation, the desire to live and be healthy overrides everything. People act like losing a breast and having reconstruction is the worst thing in the world, but I think it is a small price to pay for taking your health into your own hands and gaining some peace of mind. But, everyone is different. Our society puts so much emphasis on women's bodies, and our sexuality and femininity are so wrapped up in our physical selves that to drastically alter them like this really makes people uncomfortable. People get even MORE uncomfortable if the decision is made NOT to have reconstruction. Audre Lorde wrote about this in her awesome book The Cancer Diaries.