This is one of the few times in college that an assigned book has meant more to me than course material. It reminded me of what literature can do. One college lesson I'll always remember is how much academia ruined for me. I'm not talking about my life and future (because I'm really banking on academia helping in those departments), but it has really changed how I read novels and how I approach subjects that I'm otherwise just curious about. School weighs me down with testing and grades-- all I want to do is
know. Why do they care how much?
Can you tell I'm ready to graduate?
i know the feeling! sometimes i miss it, sometimes i am so glad to be done.
ReplyDeletesounds about right. i'm 3 years post-college and thinking about going to grad school, but i still feel that way. i think the trick (once you've gotten that degree) is to start attending community events and lectures and soaking everything in... there are no tests, just information!
ReplyDeleteah, i always felt the same way in college. why was it bad that i couldn't seem to remember the color of anna karenina's handbag, when i could remember levin's speech verbatim on page somethingorother? because it stuck with me much more? college is silly, but it has definitely made me want to be a lifetime learner, despite silly tests and grades.
ReplyDeletei guess i should introduce myself. i'm a new reader :) and i too suffer from chronic wanderlust. i really really adore your blog, it puts me to shame in the travel dept!
I completely agree, but I found toward the end of my career at Cal that I was actually learning for the sake of learning. It was really fun to pick classes that I wanted to out of joy and still succeed academically. I hope you can find the same little niche.
ReplyDeletehaha oh yes i know the feeling...and here i am, 5 years later, longing for the structure of classroom learning! what is wrong with me?!
ReplyDeleteso i shall add it to my reading list?
ReplyDeletei can tell! i'm going to add this book to my reading list.
ReplyDelete