This year was more about learning where I stand. I learned I was closer to the middle politically than I had thought (back home it was commonly assumed I was a god hating liberal). I discovered the sheer amount of crap on my desk could be hiding early life forms. I learned that washing machines do not work when you have to force the door closed with your butt. I learned that peoples' backgrounds greatly influence their views and that identity performances are universal, whether it's a professional trying to make an olympic struggle seem simple or a class trying to tack down the answer to an unanswerable question.
Some performances are better than others but, like an audition, everyone is trying to make the most of the same script.
I really love the metaphor you make about people trying out the same script! It is so true, when you think about it...at the end of the day we are all in the same place though we all have different goals. I feel like this semester has been a mess of a many different things thrown together and now as we are ready to go home for a month, things are finally starting to fall into place. I do have a question though...do you feel that found that some "scripts" are just not your thing?
ReplyDeleteI don't think that we should all be too worried if we don't have set plans, or if we cannot find a straight path towards a foreseeable future. We're only freshmen in college; we don't know jack shmitt. That's why I can't help but chuckle at kids in my classes who think they know all the answers at 18 or 19. We don't know them, and won't for years if at all.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly (in part through being your roommate as well as talking to others from different areas of the country) I learned that I was further left politically than I thought. Just as your moderate views were considered very liberal in Louisiana, my liberal views were considered moderate in my very liberal hometown. One of the reasons that I came to college was to meet people with a more diverse range of views, and I'm glad that it's happening. The transition is more difficult than I expected, though, and I apologize if I've offended you (or anyone else with different views who I've debated) at times.
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