are breakdowns spreading?

i'm not really one for emotional highs. or lows. normally, i stay the same, super-weird, bubbly, slightly violent person i am. but i almost had a breakdown friday, though it wasn't really school related, more people related (in fact, i started my calculus homework right in the middle of said breakdown). and my breakdown wasn't even that breakdown-ish. i calmly walked out of the chorus room (this was after school during drama), sat down in the hall, and played with my chapstick. before i knew it, i was on the verge of tears and so i went in and got my calculus homework. and then angela came out and we left. my breakdown ended and a slight depression settled in (puntuated with cynical and sarcastic comments directed at no one in particular). the depression lasted until the next morning when angela and i went off and had lunch, drove around, etc. i was normal stephanie again.
really, i'm not one to understand people's emotional happenings. i'm very in tune with other's emotions when they're trying to hide them, however, thus allowing me to avoid them for a time. as a person, i believe i'm rather unsympathetic and self-centered, though oddly polite. it baffles me.
while people are becoming nervous and hysterical over college and grades, i'm sitting quietly in my chair, stressing out over my m&m's not being proper and muttering that i can't write a story until i've completed its language, history, and boundaries...and map. i can't forget my map. strangely enough, i'm mostly unruffled...and strangely down at the same time. low self-esteem some would call it, but not really. i am, by no means, modest. still, i just don't worry. things work out; i know from experience. even if something horrible happens, there's always that something which will make you shrug and move on. bad memories pop up from time to time, but you accept them and go forward. there's no real point in dwelling on the past; it's happened and it can't be changed (that still doesn't keep me from wincing, however, when extremely embarassing memories pop up. and believe me, they are frequent).
i should say i'm an odd mix of self-depricating sarcasm and apathetic optimism. a cynical romantic, if you would. something bothers me, it dwells in my mind for a while and tumbles out on paper, sometimes without my realizing it. i suppose, too, that i could be more than i am, but i am content being second. i have a nice, cozy niche that i rarely leave willingly (thought, i must admit, sometimes i find myself outside, wondering how i've gotten there). but, then again, my analysis of myself could be completely wrong. i could be annoying to most people, seem to exciteable, or just deadpan. like i've said before...people have their opinions of me and i have opinions of myself. if the two match, then i guess it's true, but for the most part, i take both with a grain of salt. it's just easier that way.
but this all came about from angela's post. people do put a lot of pressure on her, myself included. but that really shouldn't be so bothersome. the thing that's hard is the pressure one puts on one's self. still, i suppose my views don't work for everyone. i mean, i tend to have a lot of time and often ruminate over such things. a bit sad, really.
well, this is where i sign off. remember: life was never solved by just picking up the coconut; you have to open it, too