Good things come in threes

Three things on the agenda today. For all of you, that is.

1. First: let me make something clear. The overall view of this blog is to explore Émile Zola's quote, which I talked about in the first post, and how I can live life like that. That does not mean this will be a blog entirely focused on, say, having children.

I'm not going to lie, that would be an interesting blog:

 "Cute guy looked at me and smiled on the way to class today; does this mean we're destined to make babies together?!" "Invited out for coffee! One more step closer to having children WOOHOO!"

No no no no no, dear reader. I don't even know if I want children at this point. I'm in college. I'm not even sure if they allow babies at college. I'm still at the point in my life where the idea of children makes me want to hide in a cave, or better yet, go live in Antarctica. There are no children in Antarctica.

That said, I also won't be starting every blog post with, "Have I planted a tree today? Have I completed my masterpiece?!" Those are goals, dear reader. I'm working toward them, but this is about exploring my life. The actual philosophy of Zola is just an overview. I never really thought about it, but I guess someday, far into the future, if I accomplish those goals, the blog will be done.

I wouldn't have brought this up, but when I wake up and check Facebook before going to class, and the first thing I see for the day is a wall post reading, "Laura, I don't want to have children..." I know I've got some explaining to do. Capeachy? Capeachy.

2. I am considering...an experiment. *thunder thunder lightning lightning DRAMATIC MUSIC*

I can hear you right now: "Way to be elusive with the ellipses, Laura." Silence, reader! I am not going to tell you about the experiment right now, because I want to do research first. HOWEVER! Should I decide to go ahead with it, I'll be sure to blog and tell you all about it. It's pretty drastic (well, for me it is) and involves using myself as the subject. *thunder thunder lightning lightning*

Now that the paragraph of overdramatic DOOM is out of the way, let's move on to #3, shall we? I promise, it's pleasant.

3.

Favorite quote: "But once, in college, I dated a menorah." Oh, Bill Hader. Je t'aime. LET'S GET MARRIED SO WE CAN MAKE BABIES AND I CAN FULFILL ONE PILLAR OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF ZOLA! BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THIS BLOG'S ALL ABOUT, RIGHT? RIGHT?! ...right?
Have a nice weekend.
P.S. Oh yeah, I'm doing that relatively minor thing this weekend where I TOUR THE WHITE HOUSE.  Think of me in there, chatting up Obama and all. I don't know if we're allowed to bring cameras in, but I'll at least tell you all about it!
P.P.S. Just looked up Bill Hader. He is, in fact, married, and just had a daughter earlier this month. Apparently he mouths hello to his wife and daughter during the closing credits of SNL (and no, I'm not a creeper at all. It was on Wikipedia). Awww. Let's have a gooey family love moment for Bill Hader.

"I never saw such a woman."

"Oh! certainly," cried his faithful assistant [Miss Bingley], "no one can be really esteemed accomplished, who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved."


"All this she must possess," added Darcy, "and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading."


"I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any."


"Are you so severe on your own sex, as to doubt the possibility of all this?"


"I never saw such a woman."


~Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (Chapter 8)

In the movie from 2005, Elizabeth actually says, "I never saw such a woman. She would certainly be a fearsome thing to behold," and I actually like that better. Sorry Jane Austen.

I have to admit, I never saw such a woman either, and I've seen many women (and men) I admire. Maybe it's the fact that we're far too busy--women nowadays actually go to school and get degrees and all that--but still, that's quite a bit to accomplish.

Although the character of Miss Bingley makes me giggle, I'm more inclined to follow the philosophy of French writer Émile Zola. You see, once upon a time, earlier this year, I finally bought a copy of my favorite book of all time, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. (More about that later. For now, READ IT.) I picked up the Harper Perennial Modern Classics version, which comes with, "insights, interviews, and more..." in the back.

Along with the biography of author Betty Smith and a piece by her daughter was a short essay by Betty herself, entitled, "Fall in Love with Life." In it, she quotes Zola: "'To have a child, to plant a tree, to write a book.' That, he said, was a full life!" (I should break out the internal citation rules, but I won't.)

I was as struck by that quote as Betty was. In a world of far too much to accomplish, far too many things to do, it really is that simple. A successful life can consist of those basic three pillars: doing something good for the world (planting a tree), completing a work (Betty interprets "writing a book" as, "a symbol for any constructive job, honestly done," and I agree with her), and raising a child. Thank god for that succinct summary.

And so, my mission: to live a full life, by Zola's standard. Some of it will have to wait (I'm not planning on a child anytime soon). And I won't try to carry it out all at once. But now it will be in the back of my mind. Hence, this won't be a blog of, "What-can-I-do-today-to-make-my-life-successful-and-productive-GAH." But it will be an interesting experiment.

Here we go. And maybe, along the way, I'll end up resembling something of Miss Bingley's "accomplished woman." But she still makes me giggle.

Photo from enchantedserenityperiodfilms.blogspot.com