The Unnecessary Acquiring of Too Many Things

This is a tale I'm all too familiar with. I spent almost 7 consecutive hours going through my belongings today (because my poor car decided to put up a fight and cost me my power steering, a lot of fluid, and some very unhealthy noises on my way to work today. Good thing I didn't even really make it out of the neighborhood, and that a car place is in said "almost out o the neighborhood".) But only the belongings that were at college, and only the things at college that managed to make it home with me. (a pile still lurks beneath my sister's staircase.) And after all of that, I only managed to throw out one bag of trash, two boxes, and have one half-filled box of things to donate away.

Someday, I'd like to go through my section of the basement that contains the remainder of my possessions. Except it might take the rest of my life.

Moral(s ... because we like optional endings) of the story:

1. if you can't immediately imagine where you're going to keep it, DON'T BUY IT.

2. Don't be afraid of holding bon-fires.

3. sentimental objects are only sentimental if you remember about them.

4. Moving piles to different piles doesn't really change the volume of your piles.

Word of the Day: behemoth \bih-HEE-muth\ noun; 1. Any creature or thing of monstrous size or power

Time for a Facelift.

I am a Graphic Design major. It is time my blog reflects that somehow.

This pre-designed layout is not the solution. (Seems a bit silly to use a pre-designed one if you can design it yourself!) But it is a change, and I will continue to make changes until I am satisfied.

And isn't that an interesting theory? To know you need to make changes, and are willing to try lots of things out before you deem them satisfactory? Something I admire in politics is the recognition that there might be a better way to do things. I just wish that all adjustments were proposed and made with a 360 degree view, so that every aspect has been reviewed and given consideration. But I guess if politics worked that smoothly, we wouldn't be blogging about it. Carry on.

Some of the most respectable adults I know were my teachers. Shout out to them. Thanks for the education, for your sacrifice, and for your ability to teach. You've made a huge difference in my life, trust me.

But I found it very frustrating when a teacher was not careful about their political affiliation.

The bond between professor and pupil is tentative, as their education stands as the reward or sacrifice. (And I say "their", because I am not fool enough to think that teachers don't learn from their interactions with students.) How much does one trust another? Usually, not enough trust is placed on either end, and the bridge between them falls after several attempted crossings. Unfortunately, sometimes too much trust is placed on either or both ends, and that can end badly for either party.

But teachers "have" to be hilarious for them to have any level of student value. Students "have"to participate beyond homework and tests in order to be deemed worthy of a teacher's attention.

And the easiest way for teachers to get approval from their students (because that's how it works, right? The student rolls in on their chariot and waits to be dished an education?) is to say funny things, be pop-culturally up to date, and to share their personal feelings about certain things.

But I could not believe how often I heard a teacher dig against this political figure or that policy. Personal feelings on politicians or political parties IS banned in schools, I know it is. Because students would get them to break the rules all the time! Students WANT to know the details of their teachers, that's how they learn to trust them. I don't think I ever heard a teacher actually declare their political affiliation, but usually, you wouldn't need to ask. You could figure it out by how they talked about the news, or mentioned this financial whatever, or discussed the war in Iraq and Afganistan.

I know that my life and my views have been changed because of the influence of good teachers. I watched one teacher in particular purposely mold classroom conversations so all the students would start thinking one way, and then end the period by thinking completely the opposite, and then point out to them how easily their minds had been changed. He taught us to think for ourselves, to not let outside influences change our views unless we allowed them that privilege.

Unfortunately, that lesson didn't often stick past the classroom, but not at the fault of the students; more than one teacher was quick to make a political comment, and that would induce a discussion, and then the class usually went to pot because the loud-mouth know-it-all students would jump on their soapboxes while the teacher silently applauded, the few other students who couldn't take it try to make a comment (only to get shot down by inflated or outsourced statistics and "facts"), and the rest of us just sit back and watch or text or wonder if we were going to ever get back to discussing the woes of Ethan Frome or how to ever survive our chemistry lab.

(Okay, so I am making some HUGE generalizations, but there were several instances in my high school career that fell into this category, and it has annoyed me forever.)

I'm not saying that we shouldn't discuss politics in school. I rather think it is brilliant and crucial to our society to have open discussions where all opinions can be addressed and viewed. But that is just the problem; the students who make the biggest stink about politics never let other students share their opinions without ensnaring them into a biased debate. Why should we share our feelings if we know we're going to fight all attempts at getting shot down? And what is more frustrating is when teachers do the same thing! I remember a specific incident where a student and faculty member were openly discussing (IN class, mind you) the faults of this and that person. And then the student was permitted to show an insulting comical clip about the President. That is not okay.

I don't care what affiliation my teachers are. I just want an unbiased education. Sometimes it doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong. Sometimes all that matters is being able to communicate ideas. If we could all do that successfully ... I can't even imagine how changed this world would be.

I hope that the public education system can get a facelift, and do some very hard thinking about how they pick and train their educators. Teachers would do us a world of good to remember that their position is a position of incredible influence, and of all things to influence, it should be HOW students think, not what students think.

Word of the Day: nitid \NIT-id\, adjective; 1. Bright, lustrous.

Paying homage to the Textbook King

Yes, I know that summer is still pleasantly shining down outside. There are still butterflies and happy birds and buzzing bees and blooming flowers. There are still clouds in the sky, and the occasional rainbow. Yes, there is still happiness in the world.

But it is AWFUL hard to remember these happy things when I look at my fall booklist. Make like Cornwall and gouge out these peepers, because I will be happy not seeing my credit card make the tearful journey to the gallows.

This coming fall marks my first truly academic semester. I've managed to spread a few GEs over five semesters, taking lots of (very enjoyable) religion classes and necessary art classes. But now I must look General Education in the face, and shake it by the throat.

(Either I've got some violence problems, or the scholar within is slowly reemerging.) (Speaking of scholars ... have you seen this yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ArIj236UHs

I'm proud to say I have indeed, visited this fabled library. More than once, in fact.)

The one nice change is that yes, I will be spending a high dollar on textbooks, but at least there will always be the next semester's student! I look forward to pawning my books off to fellow, financially depraved education seekers like myself.

And, a nice change will be my art classes. From here on out, they're almost all computer-oriented, so for now, no cost! wooooot. Try getting a refund for used art paper, 2/3rds empty tubes of paint, roughed up drawing boards ... you get the idea.

Indeed, we pay high dollar for our education. And what if we all aimed to give that price in return to someone else who needed it? I suppose that's why we gain an education in the first place, to share what we've learned and make a mark on the world. It just depends what kind of mark you want to make.

One of my roommate's professors during the first week of school said "The thing we pay for the most and use the least is education." Or something like that. It was written in marker on a piece of notebook paper and tacked to our kitchen wall for the rest of the semester, a good reminder to wisely spend only 3 hours lazing around together instead of 4.

And isn't it an interesting observation! We have an incredible opportunity (and arguably, right) to receive higher education. I wish we could see our brains develop as we learn or study something new, or get it finally ingrained and can explain the concept. I think if we could see physical evidence in our intellectual development, we not hesitate investments of time and energy, or even the money. (What does this say about our value of appearances? Nothing good.)

So instead of wailing and gnashing my teeth at this monarchy, I will remember to appreciate the opportunity it is to be a part of the education kingdom, and invest all my efforts to get every darn dollar out of those books. Because if I'm paying for them, they better do me some good.

(And who cares if your book has all the binding? Hello, half.com.)

Word of the day: garner \GAHR-ner\ , verb; 1 a. to gather into storage. b. to deposit as if into a granary. 2 a. to acquire by effort: earn b. accumulate, collect.