(no subject)
whenever people ask, "what the FUCK are you going to do with a classics degree?" i sit and i inwardly laugh and outwardly sigh. i say all sorts of things in justification of myself. but the thing is, i dont need to justify myself.
this is not just a moment of independence, but a realization of something deeper.
i am here at a liberal arts college, so why shouldn't i get a liberal arts education.
maybe the problem is that i dont have anything that i know i want to do in the future. it's not that i dont have aspirations, but i can't clearly conceive of myself in a "job" (moral adivising is not a "job", ahmad). so when you are not constrained by the future, you enjoy the present. while you might learn 'the best of what has been said and thought', i believe that you shouldn't learn 'the best...' with a concentration on your life's ambition. a theme that i have felt strongly about recently (yes, you can feel strongly about themes) is learning as a means of adjusting your own philosophy. many people think that they do this (i do it too goddammit) but it is impossible to deny and seemingly inevitable that what you think about as "your philosophy" is not *gasp* your own. fuck it fuck it fuck it. then are we screwed?
NO
for there are ways to fight back. my constant obsession with "perspective" as a philosophical/metaphysical/abstract word has shown me that perspective is the key to unlocking "your self". i apologize for the almost constant quotes. so anyway, in college supposedly we should be getting a smathering of different perspectives and shit. however, when we learn how something like writing is assessed and why certain authors are good, blah blah blah, we limit ourselves. i cant really eloquently phrase this catch 22, but suffice to say, you can't simply turn off influences.
i kinda ran out of steam here, but basically what i am trying to say is that i am majoring in classics because classics is not what i want to do in life, but it is what entertains me and DOES NOT constrain me. however, my situation is not everyone else's.
this is not just a moment of independence, but a realization of something deeper.
i am here at a liberal arts college, so why shouldn't i get a liberal arts education.
maybe the problem is that i dont have anything that i know i want to do in the future. it's not that i dont have aspirations, but i can't clearly conceive of myself in a "job" (moral adivising is not a "job", ahmad). so when you are not constrained by the future, you enjoy the present. while you might learn 'the best of what has been said and thought', i believe that you shouldn't learn 'the best...' with a concentration on your life's ambition. a theme that i have felt strongly about recently (yes, you can feel strongly about themes) is learning as a means of adjusting your own philosophy. many people think that they do this (i do it too goddammit) but it is impossible to deny and seemingly inevitable that what you think about as "your philosophy" is not *gasp* your own. fuck it fuck it fuck it. then are we screwed?
NO
for there are ways to fight back. my constant obsession with "perspective" as a philosophical/metaphysical/abstract word has shown me that perspective is the key to unlocking "your self". i apologize for the almost constant quotes. so anyway, in college supposedly we should be getting a smathering of different perspectives and shit. however, when we learn how something like writing is assessed and why certain authors are good, blah blah blah, we limit ourselves. i cant really eloquently phrase this catch 22, but suffice to say, you can't simply turn off influences.
i kinda ran out of steam here, but basically what i am trying to say is that i am majoring in classics because classics is not what i want to do in life, but it is what entertains me and DOES NOT constrain me. however, my situation is not everyone else's.