Get Out of My Head

         We have all acknowledged at one point or another that AP English pretty much rules our lives and consumes every waking thought. But, now, AP English has taken over my subconscious. I know it sounds scary. I woke up Monday morning with an odd feeling, the kind one has after leaving a particularly engrossing dream. However, the snow day celebration drove all other thoughts from my mind. As I sat on the couch later that day reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the events of my dream came back to me in a rush. In my dream, I had gone to the dentist for a simple toothache, assuming the dentist could soothe my pain easily enough. Unfortunately, that was not the case. My dentist informed me that he could temporarily relieve the pain, but if I wanted to permanently fix the problem I would have to remove the part of my brain closest to the tooth. Yes, a lobotomy to fix a toothache seems logical. The dentist assured me that it was a very small, insignificant part of my brain that he would need to remove. I naturally felt uneasy but they informed me that my brother had had the same procedure without any problems. I warily agreed. The process took all of two minutes and then I was free to go. Remarkably, I felt fine and my toothache stopped. But when I sat down to do my English reading that night, I found that I could not analyze the meaning behind any of the sentences. The brain operation had left me fully function, but it had also made me stupid. That is an AP English student’s worst nightmare. I have unknowingly let the fears of the mental patients become my own somehow. I do not fear actually having a lobotomy though. Maybe I just hate the thought of not being able to control my own fate, the way the patients are at the mercy of Nurse Ratched. Either way, I unintentionally took empathy to a whole new level.