I had an epiphany yesterday in an English class. Several fellow classmates, whom I recognized from at least two other classes, but have never been approached by nor interacted with, were talking about Thanksgiving. What was interesting was that the conversation went like this: Male student says, "Have you ever brined a turkey? Cuz Alton Brown does that on his show and it is supposed to be the bomb." Another voice, female, "OMG, my Dad loves that guy, but I don't like Bobby Flay." Further discussion about recipes and their mutual obsession with the Food Network ensue. They were talking about things I was thinking about and am interested in. Having invited 14 for dinner on Thursday, I have been stealing moments to surf the Food Network website for interesting recipes, because, as you know, doing the ones you know by rote is very boring, although less time consuming and more predictable. The funny thing is, both of these students are in their early 20's. I very much wanted to turn around and enter into that conversation, make a connection, but I didn't. However, somehow, if was comforting to know that we share some common non-academic ground. I gleaned from their conversation that they are both going home for the holiday where "mom" is going to take care of all the intricate culinary machinations about which they had been theorizing. I suppose that is where we part ways. I am interested in theories, but have had years of putting those theories into practice, in the kitchen, in the workplace and in life. That is what sets the alternative student apart from their younger counterparts, we, by nature of our fully actualized lives, integrate our acquired knowledge immediately with the practice of our daily lives. Perhaps that is an advantage, rather than waiting for that point in the distant future when all a traditional student's accumulated knowledge can be applied to the post-college job. But then again time is a factor, and they have plenty of it...
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3 comments:
I beg to differ on the time issue. Some of us younger students are working and supporting ourselves as we make our way through the vastness of academia, and our ages affect what job are available to us.
I can only comment from my limited perspective. I thought I had all the time in the world to accomplish my goals but now that I have actually reached my late forties the road ahead is much shorter than the road traveled, in regards to making any headway in a new career and building toward retirement. One thing this blog has affirmed for me is that I should have started much earlier and put some things on hold to accomplish my degree in a shorter amount of time. I respect the focus, self-confidence and dedication of the younger students I have met and wish I had possessed those qualities at their age.
hello peggy! i really enjoyed this entry. i think as english majors, you're always bound to take classes with a handful of the same people. i see people in my classes this quarter that i've had class with for the past two years, but have never had a conversation with outside of classroom. as my graduation approaches, i wonder about the lives of these classmates that i have had a chance to get to know on a strictly academic level. finding common interests always tends to make the viewing of our classmates less formal and more casual (in a friendly sense). if i were you at that moment, i would have felt the same way. next time you should join the conversation :) i've made some lasting friendships through instances such as the one you described, when a friend and i were talking about something and a third person joined in the conversation. :)
also, good luck on your video essay! i can't wait to see the final product. :)
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