A long time ago, there used to be an animated series on TV called “Daria”.  I remember when I first saw it, near when it first came out.  I couldn’t watch it.  I even got a little sick after watching it.  Maybe I was coming down with something, but maybe not.  I dunno.  It really kind of impacted me.

The main character is a sixteen year old girl named Daria Morgendorffer.  She’s sardonic, sarcastic, seemingly emotionless, pretty much hates everyone, and never seems to be happy.  I get the impression that maybe she is sometimes happy, but doesn’t let other people see that.  I haven’t watched enough to find out.  I probably won’t.

She’s a lot like me, I think.

And there are questions that arise.  One of the questions is this:  is seeing things as they are really a good thing?

One thing I really envy about some people, like the cheerleader type Brittany or her younger sister Quinn, is that they just skate through life.  They don’t care.  It’s like everything just bounces off of them, and they can be happy because they just can’t see the reasons not to be.  How is that not enviable?  It’s like life rewards stupidity.  The stupider you are, the happier you are.  Because you don’t know how to be any different.

See, that’s something Daria would say.

Intelligence breeds antidepressants.

And that is the worst thing about life.  The smarter you are, the worse it is.  Everyone seems to want to be smart, but I think they just want the rewards of being smart.  And there are a few.  In some ways, the world is your oyster.  You can get anything you want – it’s only dependent on how ethical you want to be.  But they don’t want the downsides. They don’t know the downsides.  You can tell them, and they won’t listen.  “I wish I were smart like you,” they might say.  No.  They don’t.  But they don’t know enough to know that.

Don’t ever wish for intelligence.  Don’t wish for ignorance, either.  Wish for people who treat you well, and go through life completely unconcerned.  Let the smart people bear that cross for you.

And here’s another thing you might not know:  If someone is proud of being intelligent, they’re not intelligent enough.  It truly is a cross to bear.