...until I realized that they mirrored my own life.

You see, I was lounging around the common room of my university dorm, staring out the window at the beautifully kept grass and reading Pride and Prejudice, when I suddenly threw down the book in disgust and claimed:

"My God! All these people do is talk, read, visit, eat, and go for walks! How can they possibly be happy with their pathetically shallow lives?"

Tracy, who was sitting across from me writing a letter to a friend, replied: "Well, let's examine what you've just said. What exactly did you do today?"

Me: "Um.....well......I got up, went to breakfast, did some reading, walked up to Emmy's room to talk about boys for an hour, did some shopping in Kensington, went to dinner, and then came here to read some Jane Austen. Now I. . . oh my. . . ..I guess. . . well . . . .hmmph."

She had made her point. Tracy smiled and went back to sipping her tea and writing her letter. The gorgeous, reclusive guy from the third floor walked by and we all took a moment to sigh as the door shut behind him, repeating rumours to each other about how nice his room was. I mentioned that he could play the piano quite well for someone his age--perhaps someday we would be honoured with his talents?

I was left with the unshakeable feeling that, at least in the bubble of university life, nothing had changed since 19th century England. Sure, maybe I have a part-time job, drink more, and have a few more financial worries than Jane Austen's characters, but when it really comes down to it, all I do is talk, read, visit, eat, and go for walks.

Hmmph.