I’ve made a little discovery. Or actually a not so little discovery considering its impact on me.
At the risk of sounding like a fruit: I love learning.
I enjoy the college experience: meeting people, not remembering last night, taking naps, being reckless.
But, contrary to what my peers would say, this is not the reason why I love college.
The stereotypical “college experience” (dorm rooms, sporting events, keg stands) wouldn’t explain my undying love for community college or why I feel nostalgic for it to this day.
At Brookdale I had the freedom to pursue whatever I wanted. Photography, Italian, Creative Writing, Business, Art, anything inside that little booklet with the smiling ethnic students on the cover.
No pressure.
When I came to Miami I was immediately confined to a major and/or a minor.
It is this aspect of conventional universities that I dislike.
Still, I had the luxury of taking random courses like intro. to zoology. (sososo fun)
More and more people ask me what I want to do after graduation. I used to feel guilty and nervous for not having a rehearsed answer for such a critical question.
Of course there are plenty of things I want to do after graduation; travel, join the Peace Corps, write a novel, direct a film, speak Arabic, learn how to play guitar, and many other objectives making up a long, eclectic list.
But this is not what the question implies.
The questioner wants to hear a specific answer. Which usually involves a potential job title and a company.
This saddens me.
Things that make us happy are secondary to things that are defined by society. Things that we have conditioned ourselves to think are absolutely necessary. Why can’t happiness be necessary? Why does a pension plan and a mortgage matter more than exploring the inner confines of your desires?
I’ll most likely ramble on about all of that later but for now, back to education and college.
At no other point in your life can you dismiss everything else and dedicate all your time to the acquisition of knowledge under the pretext that “Hey, I’m a student.”
Yes, I concede that there are some very boring subjects out there (Algebra and Physics blecch). But there are people out there that love the constancy and uniformity of math and science.
Never again will you be such a receptive human sponge.
I think that’s part of the reason for why I am dreading graduation and entering the so-called “real world.”
Because this process comes to a screeching halt.
Yes you do acquire skills that will help you within your chosen line of work.
But your learning is extremely narrow.
Unless you’re seeking a PhD in everything you’ll have to leave behind 90% of what you find wildly interesting.
Most careers don’t leave room for hobbies. And most hobbies do not involve opening textbooks or having experts on the subject at your disposal.
I know in my case, swinging a racket or flicking a paintbrush won’t fill that void.
Maybe that is why it seems to me that ancient civilizations were so successful at creating lasting physical constructions as well as concepts. Their lives were devoted to observations and forming explanations for the world around them.
This is why it upsets me to hear some doofus on the Discovery Channel talking about how they must have been helped by aliens.
Why insult human ability so?
At the risk of sounding like a fruit: I love learning.
I enjoy the college experience: meeting people, not remembering last night, taking naps, being reckless.
But, contrary to what my peers would say, this is not the reason why I love college.
The stereotypical “college experience” (dorm rooms, sporting events, keg stands) wouldn’t explain my undying love for community college or why I feel nostalgic for it to this day.
At Brookdale I had the freedom to pursue whatever I wanted. Photography, Italian, Creative Writing, Business, Art, anything inside that little booklet with the smiling ethnic students on the cover.
No pressure.
When I came to Miami I was immediately confined to a major and/or a minor.
It is this aspect of conventional universities that I dislike.
Still, I had the luxury of taking random courses like intro. to zoology. (sososo fun)
More and more people ask me what I want to do after graduation. I used to feel guilty and nervous for not having a rehearsed answer for such a critical question.
Of course there are plenty of things I want to do after graduation; travel, join the Peace Corps, write a novel, direct a film, speak Arabic, learn how to play guitar, and many other objectives making up a long, eclectic list.
But this is not what the question implies.
The questioner wants to hear a specific answer. Which usually involves a potential job title and a company.
This saddens me.
Things that make us happy are secondary to things that are defined by society. Things that we have conditioned ourselves to think are absolutely necessary. Why can’t happiness be necessary? Why does a pension plan and a mortgage matter more than exploring the inner confines of your desires?
I’ll most likely ramble on about all of that later but for now, back to education and college.
At no other point in your life can you dismiss everything else and dedicate all your time to the acquisition of knowledge under the pretext that “Hey, I’m a student.”
Yes, I concede that there are some very boring subjects out there (Algebra and Physics blecch). But there are people out there that love the constancy and uniformity of math and science.
Never again will you be such a receptive human sponge.
I think that’s part of the reason for why I am dreading graduation and entering the so-called “real world.”
Because this process comes to a screeching halt.
Yes you do acquire skills that will help you within your chosen line of work.
But your learning is extremely narrow.
Unless you’re seeking a PhD in everything you’ll have to leave behind 90% of what you find wildly interesting.
Most careers don’t leave room for hobbies. And most hobbies do not involve opening textbooks or having experts on the subject at your disposal.
I know in my case, swinging a racket or flicking a paintbrush won’t fill that void.
Maybe that is why it seems to me that ancient civilizations were so successful at creating lasting physical constructions as well as concepts. Their lives were devoted to observations and forming explanations for the world around them.
This is why it upsets me to hear some doofus on the Discovery Channel talking about how they must have been helped by aliens.
Why insult human ability so?
These people, just as we are now, were entirely capable of crafting architectural wonders and other unthinkable crazy shit we don't even know about.
We don’t truly realize our individual potential or even human potential as a whole.
We can be a force damnit.
We've gotten a taste of it through various movements in our history.
So why is it that now we leave it up to others to make our lives better, to spoon-feed us novelty and innovation, to create art, to interpret the world, to make discoveries and to tell us what to believe?
This is what I feel religion is. An untested concept.
That is all it can ever really be.
I don’t care if you’re the Pope or a descendant of Muhammad, you will never be able to prove to me or anyone that there is an entity called god. Or that this god created us and the universe, or that he/she/it has anything to do with human interaction or can control the environment.
Yet people rigidly adhere to these centuries old “guesses.” They battle over superiority and try to impose what they blindly accept onto others. Why does marriage have to be between a man and a woman? Aside from the physical barriers associated with reproduction, why do people think they have the supreme authority to declare it wrong for a man to want to be happy with another man?
I hope all of this becomes clear when I die.
But what if it doesn’t?
What if death is just a brick wall?
Your existence is over; you evaporate, no explanations, no second-chances, no rewards or punishments, no eternity.
Will it really matter then, when you are facing impending termination, who was right or wrong?
Still, even the study of religion can be fascinating; its origins and why some have more resonance or are more prominent (or forceful) than others.
This all ties back into my fruitcake statement before: “I love learning”
Maybe the world would be a better place if everyone was a little more nerdy.
No comments:
Post a Comment