On April 10 the science world released an incredible image, the first picture of a black hole. It was such a simple picture that has far reaching ramifications. But for me it was mainly just epically awesome.
For more about the photo check out this article from NASA.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/2019/4/19/how-scientists-captured-the-first-image-of-a-black-hole/
Black holes are fascinating to me. You have this force that is extremely powerful, a force that can pull colossal, seemingly immovable objects towards it. It’s a force so powerful that even light can’t escape it.
What I find even more intriguing is the idea of the event horizon. The event horizon is the edge around a black hole where nothing can escape. It’s where objects can teeter on the brink of certain destruction before it’s too far gone to recover. It is the moment of no return, that moment that defines the shape of the black hole for all to see.
I think this is an apt image at this time of year. It’s the time of year when the stress of school is starting to weigh me down. I can feel the strain of the school year in my shoulders and my back. Usually around this time of year I pull a muscle in my neck and my knees are shot. My body just wears down from the exhausting day-to-day demands of teaching.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. But it takes its toll over the course of the year.
As the year winds down I’m reminded of the event horizon. As the stress of the end of the year looms it’s easier and easier to get pulled into negative conversations. Sometimes it’s a colleague frustrated about a student’s behavior that draws me in to vent. Sometimes it’s a meeting that goes on too long or gets rescheduled for the umpteenth time. Sometimes it’s the kids chatting when they aren’t supposed to or asking me the same question three other students have already asked me. It all has the potential to pull me in, to lure me into the point of no return, those moments when I lose my temper or snap at a colleague or student. We all have those moments. The key is not to get pushed over the edge into the point of no return…the event horizon.
