Breaking the habit

[fredericks]

I have a deep aversion to writing in my textbooks in any sort of permanent ink. I realize this now, as I contemplate marking in the answers on my Lab Review Sheets. Just the thought of putting black ballpoint to clean glossy white sheet gives me an almost Pavlovian shock. My trainers? my West-Indian parents, for whom books were as rare and expensive as gold. Or so they make it seem. I also hear a lot of "We had bread and butter for lunch! One slice!" and "You kids are damned lucky! We almost never had meat to eat!" (and I should point out that 7 of the 10 dishes we had yesterday for my bro's birthday were meat-based...making up for lost time, perhaps).

I digress. As is my wont. I've been trained, from an early age, to only work math problems in pencil, and to *never* write in a textbook, always paper accompanying it. Even if said textbook wasn't given to me by my school and didn't have to be returned.

Pencil and paper. Always. Well, I'm going to try to go against it all.

I...I feel so anxious.


God, I'm such a loser.