| September 1, 1999 The “Ophelia Syndrome” is classified as one person being too dependent on another, while the other person simply tells them what to do. In some ways, it sounds a lot like co-dependency: a vicious cycle that two people get sucked into, only then discovering how hard it is to break free. Certainly every person has experienced the “Ophelia Syndrome,” though he or she may not even be aware of it. Perhaps this is why I always found history to be so tedious and boring; I was not learning, merely memorizing facts for the upcoming test. However, give me a book, or a subject to study, whether it be history or medicine, and I enjoy it immensely. Anything that makes the subject come to life is enough to keep me interested. My last history class did not do that. No matter how much I read the history book, my conclusions never matched the expected conclusions for the class. It may have been my own fault, but the end result was, I developed a hasty bias towards history. At the same time, I love to read about the Revolutionary War, the pioneers, the founding of our country, different religions and cultures . . . everything we learn about in history, right? The difference is, when I read, I am doing my own learning - and a lot of the teaching. The same thing, whether we realize it or not, happens in movies. Most movies do not require us to think for ourselves. It’s an emotional roller coaster; the heroine cries, we cry. She laughs, we laugh. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. After a long week of classes, that’s exactly why I go to the movies: to relax, enjoy myself, and not have to think. Initially, when I think of an easy class, I think of a class that doesn’t require me to do much. However, when I am placed in a class like this, I soon become bored and passive in my studies. As much as I hate to admit it (for some teachers get the wrong idea), I like a class that challenges me, that gives me something to do. I knew a person back in high school who I loved to talk to, because he would ask me questions about myself, my life, and my religion that required me to think. In doing so, I had to look deep in my soul, and I always came away from the conversation feeling as though I had learned something more about myself. It’s a faith-building exercise. The solution to the “Ophelia Syndrome” is not easily found. Teachers can try to make students think on their own by showing them two ends of a puzzle and not letting them know the missing link. But many people will not know what to do; they will simply flounder in confusion until someone tells them the way to go. So in the end, the difference is in us, individually. We must decide we no longer desire to be spoon-fed. This desire, implemented in every person, is the greatest permanent cure to the “Ophelia Syndrome.” |