In 2016, Hulu released a mini-series based off of the Stephen King novel 11.22.63. The show stars James Franco as Jake Epping, a man whose life changes when his friend Al shows him how to travel back in time. In Al’s diner, there is a closet that acts as a time portal transporting whoever enters back in time to Oct. 21, 1960. Al has been using the portal to travel back and trying to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but when he becomes ill, he asks Jake to take over for him and do what he never could. Jake is hesitant at first, but then he agrees.

While in the past, Jake runs into several roadblocks as he tries to finish his mission. The show is filled with darkness and twists, and the ending might even make you shed a tear. While I believe that the whole show is worthy of watching, my favorite part of the show was actually in the last episode. There is a scene in which a friend Jake meets in the past reads a poem, and this poem fits the show very well. The poem reads:

“We did not ask for this room, or this music. We were invited in. Therefore, because the dark surrounds us, let us turn our faces to the light. Let us endure hardship to be grateful for plenty. We have been given pain to be astounded by joy. We have been given life to deny death. We did not ask for this room, or this music. But because we are here, let us dance.”

This has become my favorite poem. I think this poem fits the show very well, and it also represents life in general. You can’t change the past, no matter how much you would like to. You should live in the moment, because some things aren’t worth stressing about. We did not ask to be here, we were invited in. And since we’re here, we shouldn’t worry about little things as much. We will face hard times, but we will also experience joy. Since we’re here, we should try to live life to the fullest. We should “dance,” as Stephen King so perfectly put it.

College is hard, and there are a lot of things that easily stress us out. Money and homework have been stressing me out specifically lately, and I need to remember to take a step back and breathe. These things are definitely important, but we shouldn’t be stressing about them so much.

If you’re stressed about these types of things too, just remember that you have your whole life ahead of you. The things you’re worried about right now may seem huge, but ten years from now you won’t even remember what you were stressed about. We can worry about things all we want, but in the end, all we can do is dance.

Jessica Stewart is a sophomore English education major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or jrstewart3@eiu.edu.