education + operation = i.love.you.
I was thinking today of my school and the years I spent studying in Asia. Someone told me recently that they really admire people who have a real goal in life and are passionate about something..almost obsessively. This statement made me cast my memory back to my prior history teacher, Miss Strawson. Miss Strawson was a beautiful woman, both in body and mind. Jovial, vibrant, very knowledgeable (and sometimes sarcastic) but also quixotic. Often in class I would find myself admiring her from across the classroom as she moveed across the room with all the disciplinary order of a Red Army Soldier, the grace of a russian ballerina and the egality and opulence of Marie Antoinette. She didn't just talk of the past, she actually LIVED in the past. This was the reason why I loved her lessons so much, because as soon as I entered the room and shut the door behind me, the world of "living" (which we discern as "reality) vanished in a cloud of smoke. With her fifth century eyes, her huge magnificent brain of knowledge (she could fire back a date, an event, a name quicker than you could say "bob's your uncle) she was a complete reverie. I think everyone in her lessons, during that brief one hour per day, felt enchanted. And when we would leave her lessons and shut the door behind us, suddenly the whole world around us..the "normality" would seem sluggish and unreal, too mundane to be real life. Whenever I left history lessons it made me question the world around me. I think this is the reason why I love history so much because although like most people say "history is like one big story", unlike english literature, this story is not just a story but it really took place, on this earth, which is precisely why I find history so much more emotive than literature. Not that I dislike english literature (people who know me will know how much I obsess over my english...teacher.) but history I find is so much more...real. I remember one time when I knocked on miss strawson's office to collect some work, her whole manner of speaking seemed terribly bored and awkward, her tongue rigid; every word she spoke was carefully chosen. Only when I asked her a question on the previous lesson (which I missed) did she suddenly come to life, her eyes lit up and her speech seemed suddenly very fluid and continuous.. She wasn't even talking to me, when she spoke it were more as if she were reminiscing..
We are cleaning out the house and having a HUGE spring clean. Today I've arranged all of the books on the shelves and found masses of all these thick, heavy books exploring the "Human condition." belonging to my dad. I honestly think my dad should read some fiction, rather than factual books so that when he is with someone he does not teach but he talks. Most people think my dad is very condescending the way he only talks about facts all the time, as if trying to question their intelligibility, yet it is really because this is all he knows..my sister says he is like one of those geniuses driven insane.
Spring cleaning makes me sad. It's sad to give away your childhood belongings! I always feel like a child again whenever I go back to this house. We've just been looking at photos when my sister and I were toddlers.. I miss those days D: I also miss having the luxury of being around adolescents who are still very child-like and aren't picky and are all "okay" to do whatever.. and don't make a big deal out of where to hang out regardless of "who's gonna be there" or what to do.. Just being back here it's really reminded me of the real meaning of adolescence, and it's sad to see that all my friends have now changed so much. People around me are trying to grow up too fast. I think this is very sad. The other day when I was with Sam he said jokingly "my inner child died." I know some people who are very clever and old (ish) and they'll still feel like a child, at heart. It's the strangest thing, seeing this..but I believe this to be a very good thing. Still, as Pulp says : It's okay to grow up, as long as you don't grow old. Face it, you are YOUNG.
We are cleaning out the house and having a HUGE spring clean. Today I've arranged all of the books on the shelves and found masses of all these thick, heavy books exploring the "Human condition." belonging to my dad. I honestly think my dad should read some fiction, rather than factual books so that when he is with someone he does not teach but he talks. Most people think my dad is very condescending the way he only talks about facts all the time, as if trying to question their intelligibility, yet it is really because this is all he knows..my sister says he is like one of those geniuses driven insane.
Spring cleaning makes me sad. It's sad to give away your childhood belongings! I always feel like a child again whenever I go back to this house. We've just been looking at photos when my sister and I were toddlers.. I miss those days D: I also miss having the luxury of being around adolescents who are still very child-like and aren't picky and are all "okay" to do whatever.. and don't make a big deal out of where to hang out regardless of "who's gonna be there" or what to do.. Just being back here it's really reminded me of the real meaning of adolescence, and it's sad to see that all my friends have now changed so much. People around me are trying to grow up too fast. I think this is very sad. The other day when I was with Sam he said jokingly "my inner child died." I know some people who are very clever and old (ish) and they'll still feel like a child, at heart. It's the strangest thing, seeing this..but I believe this to be a very good thing. Still, as Pulp says : It's okay to grow up, as long as you don't grow old. Face it, you are YOUNG.