a thing that someone says to cause amusement or laughter, especially a story with a funny punchline.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Just fucking kill yourself. <\/span><\/i>Set of words spat by a classmate.<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019re too sensitive. <\/span><\/i>The guidance counselor\u2019s response when I came in after school, asking for some support.<\/span><\/p>\n It was just a joke. <\/span><\/i>Something I heard many times over the years.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I ask <\/span>what is wrong with me?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Why must existence hurt so much?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I beg the universe in silence.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI talk to God, but the sky is empty\u201d \u2013 Sylvia Plath.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Serious<\/b> (adjective)<\/span><\/p>\n demanding careful consideration or application.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My family tells me I<\/span> just need to <\/span>grow<\/span><\/i> thicker skin<\/span><\/i> and\u00a0<\/span>learn to handle Ordinary Life.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Counselors advise me to simply care less<\/span>; you\u2019re just so\u2026 <\/span><\/i>(the woman pauses, grasping for a new adjective)<\/span> intense.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n My friends say I am just so goddamn dramatic.<\/span><\/p>\n Stop looking for something that doesn\u2019t exist. Shut up and cope, like the rest of us<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Diagnosis<\/b> (noun)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n the identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The doctors say my problem lies in my breasts, my uterus. <\/span>Control your emotional feminine mind, <\/span><\/i>their platitudes seem to say.<\/span><\/p>\n The internet suggests hundreds of mental conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n A therapist tells me to <\/span>just picture dancing pink elephants, something silly! Just laugh instead.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n My psychiatrist apologizes. <\/span>Here, I\u2019ll prescribe you a low dosage of Zoloft.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I wonder why my attempts must be so fruitless. I beg again: <\/span>why aren\u2019t I whole?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I desire you, a part of me is gone.\u201d<\/span> \u2013 Anne Carson.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Epitaph<\/b> (noun)<\/span><\/p>\n a phrase or form of words written in memory of a person, especially as an inscription on a tombstone.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Maybe it would be easier now to invent some sort of inspirational lie. Pretend that this morning I didn\u2019t wake up with a puffy face from last night\u2019s tears. Tell people that I found the right doctor, that I got diagnosed, that I don\u2019t wish every morning I\u2019d die in my sleep. I could say to you, Reader, that <\/span>things are<\/span><\/i> better<\/span><\/i> now<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I could lie to you, as they lied to me.<\/span><\/p>\n But that wouldn\u2019t be taking <\/span>you<\/span><\/i> seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I won\u2019t defeat my story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Your victim of introspection is still searching for her answers alone.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Maggie Jordan<\/strong> is a third-year English major at Florida Southern College. In between teaching at the campus Writing Club, running her literary magazine\u00a0<\/span>The Edge<\/span><\/i>, and doing homework, Maggie enjoys practicing photography and grabbing coffee with her friends at the local library. She most delights in creative nonfiction and poetry pieces, although she dabbles in a little bit of everything.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DIAGNOSIS Maggie Jordan Joke (noun) a thing that someone says to cause amusement or laughter, especially a story with a funny punchline. \u00a0 Just fucking kill yourself. Set of Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":479,"featured_media":0,"parent":1310,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3766"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/479"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3766"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4551,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3766\/revisions\/4551"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Maggie](\"http:\/\/blogs.ubalt.edu\/welter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1188\/2023\/11\/Maggie_Headshot-300x270.jpeg\")
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