I really enjoyed Sara Schlemm’s talk about melancholy. The in-depth discussion on melancholy was such an abstract topic but Sara was able to present it in the context of everyday life. 

What I really found interesting and what I did not know before this talk, was that melancholy in literature and in history was associated with many different things, such as black bile, genius, and autumn. The discussion on the association of melancholy with a season such as autumn really opened my eyes into a different way of thinking. The discussion focused on how melancholy, like autumn, is a season. Autumn is bound to come, just as melancholy is bound to come; it is a part of life. I was hesitant to believe that melancholy, this feeling characterized by gloom and even depression, is an unavoidable part of life. After talking to Sara after her talk, she brought up a very interesting study regarding how too much Facebook and social media leads to depression. Facebook, a platform that we are so drawn to as a place to connect with people and see how others are doing, is creating envy, when we see that others’  are doing better in life than us, which can lead to depression and melancholy. This brings me to see some truth in how too much beauty can lead to melancholy, and how melancholy is a part of life that is inevitable like the seasons.