Maybe that's what I've really been meaning to say, and couldn't. Maybe I have, and people just need a reminder. Well, here it is; when you're ADD, and although, as I have said, it's not an excuse, people tend to end up doing, or wanting to do a lot for you. I don't know if it's some perceived incapacity on your part to be able to do it for yourself, or if they're just trying to be helpful. But there's a thin line between doing for others, and over-doing for others, to the detriment of the other person's self-image. You can help, but I don't like feeling incapable any more than you would. And God knows I'm not genuinely incapacitated, really, in any way. Okay, I admit to having been misguided on more than one occasion, but I have learned. Yeah, okay, admittedly too, I learned the hard way, but there it is; plus or minus the Adderall, I have most definitely learned, and I am entirely capable of being a productive member of society. Medication, I may need; pity doesn't serve me at all. And I'm not saying that to be cocky or smug, I'm saying that to save myself from being smothered by the good intentions of others. I really do like people, I care about everyone; I think it would be an unbelievable world if everyone simply wanted to do their best. And I enjoy helping them, however I can. That's probably why I love being a teacher so much, even though it annoys me that students can sometimes be so blase about something so crucial to their lives. This should not come as a shock to anyone. So there is a certain point at which your personal "circle" is more about protecting yourself, and your mind, from those who would attack it, even unwittingly. By now I should have said everything I ever need to on the subject.

And if something in that is still not particularly clear, if what can become of love is still an enigma, the only suggestion I can make then is to read Tolstoi's story, "The Kreutzer Sonata."