Thanks for your kind words and encouragement, Pepper Reed! I completely agree that art and beauty aren’t useless. To clarify: part of the problem is that I DON’T have my art. I spent so many years of my life writing essays and taking tests, when I could have been writing novels or painting. I wonder if Lydia wouldn’t have MORE of a chance of being a poet laureate if she skipped all the schooling and went straight to creating.