I think that Scarlet's contemplation of faking her own death as a means of escaping assorted academic obligations signals another motivating factor in the "I'm SO busy" phenomenon. This is that many of us have a hard time saying "no" to things (academic and otherwise) which we would prefer not to have to do...and to plead busy-ness in response to various requests and invitations remains a far more socially acceptable option than pulling a Nancy Reagan (whose admonition, admittedly, was for a more circumscribed set of invitations).
To entirely mis-quote Janis Joplin, "Freedom's just another word for saying 'no' without carrying on about how busy you are."
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Posted by twilight blue to academicsecret at 8/08/2006 06:27:55 PM
