u/SuitableFeature7929

All throughout my first year of uni, I studied Ancient Greek and I'm supposed to be at A2 level. But, the my summer break is over three months long, and I haven't done Ancient Greek properly in two months.

I went to a very intense Latin summer school, so whenever I try to go over my Ancient Greek vocab or grammar, all that comes to mind is Latin noun/verb endings and vocabulary, instead of Ancient Greek.

I have a month left of my summer holidays, and I'm supposed to start reading actual Ancient Greek texts in September, but I feel like I've forgotten everything. I feel so overwhelmed and don't know where to start with my revision.

Should I try an get through an Open University beginners course to remind myself of everything? Do you have any tips on how to maintain your language skills whilst you're away from school?

I'm generally scared of the jump between what's basically GCSE to A-Level Ancient Greek, and I'm scared I won't be able to handle it. Does anyone have any resources that will help me with that transition?

EDIT: I don't have much time to be on Reddit so I'm editing this post instead of responding to all your comments, but thank you all so much for your advice. I finally have some clarity on what to do, whilst maintaining both my Latin and Ancient Greek.

At my university, they

1. Count footnotes (but NOT bibliography) in word count

2. Dock marks for going over the word count, even if it's by a single word

I try my best to be concise, and get rid of anything I don't need, but I often get feedback along the lines of "explore this more" or "more depth" when I did in a former draft, but had to get rid of it so I wouldn't be docked marks for something as stupid and preventable as word count.

I do English Literature and Classical Studies. Please help!

I keep seeing all sorts of vitriol towards the Pope, particularly on Pope Francis and Leo XIV online, but particularly the latter. Thankfully the Catholics, even non-Christians and Protestants around me have respect for him, but so many of so-called Catholics critique Pope Leo XIV for what I see as his duties e.g. praying with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

I know many of these "Catholics" were being rude about his meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury because of misogyny, and honestly, plain stupidity as they kept thinking Pope Leo XIV was ordaining a female priest, when the video literally was titled in all caps "POPE LEO XIV PRAYS WITH ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY."

How they made this mistake, I am very unsure. Blind hate makes people stupid, as well as ungodly, I guess. I apologise for not being kinder, but I can't get over how it said in bold "ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY" aka THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, HENCE THE "CANTERBURY."

But, I digress. When did it get so normal to critique the Pope in this way? I'm not saying the Pope should be free from critique, there have been some truly awful men in history who have paraded as Popes e.g. Pope Paul IV, Benedict IX, and John XII.

But, what I mean is that they are comfortable hating him so much for seemingly harmless, or good things, like being anti-war, anti-AI, and praying with another religious official. I saw commentors say that he wasn't following the Bible.

And, I'm wondering, when did Catholics get so comfortable critiquing the Pope for these things and acting like they know better than him. I don't understand why these very nitpicky individuals who seem to hate the Pope, or act like they know better than him choose to be Catholics, when there are so many denominations that don't have a Pope. I know I've come off as quiet strong here, I ought to have been more understanding, but I am genuinely just asking and am confused.

I'm 19F and I've been romantically so many times I feel embarrassed sharing this number. Healthy and loving relationships come to my friends so easily, but not to me. I am okay with this, nobody is entitled to anything in this life, despite our efforts, and it is was clearly not in God's will for me to find anyone. After a disastrous first year at university and even more dating failures, I found my way back to God.

I realised that I was seeking God's love in the men I desired, and that even if they chose me, I still wouldn't feel fulfilled because my spiritual life was practically dead at this point. Also, I was finding my identity in so many different ways that weren't in Christ, which were leading me to get hurt in so many different ways. I now cultivate my faith daily by attending Mass whenever I can, going to Bible study regularly, and silent prayer during the day.

Finding my purpose in serving God and seeking therapy has lessened my desire to be chosen by a man, but I still find myself craving companionship. I still find myself feeling my heartache when I see my friends' beautiful relationships and hearing about everyone else's romantic endeavours. If I stay up too late at night, I worry about never finding anyone or inevitable loneliness I'll experience when my peers start to prioritise their partners and rebuilding a family.

Despite feeling this way, I don't think I'm capable of being attracted or experiencing romantic feelings anymore. In the liminal space between my last and most painful rejections, I tried to pursue other people, particularly those that felt better for me, but regardless of how perfect they were on paper, and how physically attractive they were, I couldn't bring myself to like them. It's like I'm blocked, I used to love so intensely, so I think I'm just burnt out.

As I got rejected more and more times, I got worse at dealing with the pain of rejection, as I wouldn't weep about a singular rejection, but I'd cry so hard over every single one of them. It was like when you get scurvy, and every single one of your healed wounds reopen, and this hindered me in so many different ways. With the last two guys, I felt like if they rejected me, I couldn't cope.

So, I feel like my inability to experience romantic feelings or attraction is God's and my body's way of protecting me from hurt, but I feel so anxious about my inability to love. I've always been known as the "yearner", the "lovergirl", and "hopeless romantic" so I feel as if I've lost a substantial part of myself. If God ever puts the right man on my path, I worry I won't reciprocate his feelings because these feelings simply cannot be forced. Honestly, I feel so embarrassed suggesting that, like, as if I feel too highly of myself for assuming God would provide me with someone, so I feel as if it's a matter of low self-esteem. I miss falling for someone, I feel like I'll never be able to do it again. I'm also missing some major context as to what else has caused me to feel this way, but some aspects of my pre-reconvert suffering is too much for me to recall.

I'm so grateful that my romantic failures ultimately brought me back to Christ, as I, I know the post suggests otherwise, am the happiest I've been in a while. The closest to true joy I've ever experienced is at Mass, but if I stay up too late at night or see posts that cause me pain on Instagram, these are the thoughts that start to resurface. I'll pray for some clarity, and keep cultivating my faith, but I was wondering if anyone here (particularly other late bloomers and the chronically single) could provide advice and/or pray for me too? Thank you for taking the time out of your busy days to read this. It felt good to finally get this down.

Hello Fathers,

I'm 19, have just finished my first year of university, and whilst I was raised Catholic, I spent a while being rather lapsed from religion all together. I eventually re-found God, and have been trying to find my identity in Him and Christ, rather than academics, looks, validation from others etc. As a result, I'm the happiest I've been in a while.

I have been contemplating my future over this summer, and the option that keeps popping up into my head is giving my whole life to God and becoming a nun. But, I'm also having doubts. I feel like nun is a pathway that people should not doubt, like I should just know that this is the path God wants for me to follow. Like, you either want to be a nun or not. Also, a lot of people around me seem to be sceptical about me pursuing this path, and warning me about how much I'll have to "give up." But I don't really see it like that, I mean, every path someone chooses involves some levels of sacrifice, and I think becoming a nun would be fulfilling, spiritually as well as socially that I'd hardly notice how much I've "given up". I know a lot of nuns are teachers, which I've been interested in pursuing for a while too. But, I feel like people think I'm joking, when I'm not.

Did you have any doubts about becoming a priest? When did you realise that you wanted to become priests or did you want to be one your whole life? Do doubts mean that I'm not fully committed to God?

Thank you for your time. I know priests are very busy people, so it means a lot that you even look at this sub-Reddit. I'll pray for you all!

"Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it."

Donna Tartt strikes a satisfying balance between elegant reflections on aesthetics and gritty, supremely real images of college life, warning us pretentious readers against our tendency to romanticise, or as she would say our ‘morbid longing for the picturesque...’ 

After completing my first year at university, where I studied English Literature and dabbled in some Ancient Greek, I couldn’t think of a better book to reward myself with. Tartt depicts a convincing descent into madness after an exclusive and eccentric group of classics students' obsession with the Ancient world goes too far… Needless to say, I looked at my VERY normal (and inclusive) Ancient Greek class and smiled. 

Though, I couldn’t say the same about my time with single honours English Literature students and their tendency to glorify classical figures. When we were studying Paradise Lost, they were reluctant to accept the similarities between Achilles and Satan. Achilles only went on that murderous rampage over his grief for Patroklus! Not because he was an excessive-selfish-greedy-glory-seeker whatsoever! Satan’s the selfish one out of the two! Henry Winter is the ideal response to this debate. He is, by far, the most dedicated and eccentric scholar out of the bunch, striving to embody qualities only the Ancient Greeks would laude:

It's a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like the Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely?

He is seemingly stoic, but I have reason to believe that he feels very strongly, and his emotions manifest themselves much more painfully, whether it’s crippling migraines or beating someone to a pulp at a party.  This suggests his dedication to living according to Ancient Greek thought is incompatible with modern life, or human nature. He attempts piety by initiating a bacchanal and when he realises he may have killed a farmer amidst a Dionysiac-frenzy, his initial reaction is to slaughter a pig and cover everyone in its blood to prevent “miasma.” Finally, he displays kleos when he attempts suicide, opting for a short, but grand, life, dying at his “peak.” His suicide is just as grand as his life, shooting himself in front of his classmates, after Charles blames him for ruining their lives. By doing so, he thinks he’s gracing them with his great sacrifice, as Oedipus did when he blinded himself and went into self-imposed exile. Regardless, I’d say his suicide attempt was one of many of his selfish acts, another way to escape responsibility from his heinous actions, demonstrating that there is little glory to be found in living like you’re in a Euripidean tragedy. Though, the gross lack of accountability can be likened to Achilles, who refuses to fight in several battles during the Trojan War, allowing thousands of soldiers to suffer on his behalf, just as Henry is eager to let his classmates live with the consequences of the schemes he initiated – but don’t tell him I said that. 

Now, there are some aspects of the classical world I’d love to adopt: Penelope’s creativity, Dido’s strength, and Lysistrata’s drive, but you won’t catch me atop a funeral pyre, mourning a Trojan prince  or initiating a mass sex-strike anytime soon! The Secret History is a bold cautionary tale against abiding by extreme aesthetics, without much room for our humanity, which isn’t limited to academics, but also applies to the wannabe capitalists, Catholics, as well as classicists. 

Anyways, I’ve found out what modules I’m supposed to take in September, and Ancient Greek doesn’t seem to be on the list… I ought to speak to someone about this, but perhaps I won’t be as relentless as Richard.  

"'But how,' said Charles, who was close to tears, “how can you possibly justify cold-blooded murder?’
Henry lit a cigarette. 'I prefer to think of it,” he had said, “as redistribution of matter.'"