Life is filled with temporary rests. Some seemingly safe, some long, some short, some all to brief. A time to pause and rest before beginning again.

It seems like a normal daily thing to be nervous. A natural state of being. Wondering what the future holds, what it will be like, whether or not one will be happy. A small amount of anxiety is perfectly normal.

Much of anxiety has to do with our own expectations. Many, like me, set their expectations higher than necessary. I expect to get an A in any college course I take unless it has to do with United Methodist History or Doctrine. This expectation comes with it a collection of other anxiety inducing expectations. I’m going to have to do a lot of reading, a lot of studying, sit in class for hours listening to others spout nonsensical questions just to be noticed while I wait, hoping, praying, that just one of them will ask something useful or inspiring.

Like these gulls, which incidentally are neither A, B, nor Sea Gulls, thank you Dr. Roese for that clarification, things are not always as they appear to be or as we think we know them to be. Herring Gulls, Ring-Billed Gulls, Laughing Gulls, Bonaparte’s Gulls, all colloquially known as seagulls or trash birds, living in an area with no sea, are not as they appear. Vital to the ecosystem, they process waste that would otherwise attract vermin, aka rats, rodents, mice, etc. and turn it into white sticky ammunition to drop on unsuspecting tourists. If you come to expect this from them, they are highly entertaining to watch as they attach small children carrying hot dogs buns or ice cream cones and steal their treats. But sometimes… they just attack you. Keep your distance when possible.

Anxiety is a part of life. For some, seeing these gulls resting upon a dock is an anxiety inducing image. They’re just waiting for them to be startled and take flight in an unpredictable direction or they’re making a mess of the water. For a few, they’re just a part of the natural order of nature and we’re thankful they exist to clean up after messy humans. Nothing to be anxious about.

For some, school induces no anxiety. It is a welcomed educational experience where they get to socialize with friends, relax, buy cool stationary and a brand new backpack. For others, we struggle to grasp that no one else cares if we get an A. The only thing that matters is that we pass like trash through a seagull.