Realization

I was sitting in Media Ethics, a Communications class centered on “good” and “bad” practices, and not in a Machiavellian sort of manner where we step on everyone to get on top, but in an actual, practical business situation where individuals in the industry are trained to think in terms of what is ethical for themselves and their clients. Here I am sitting discussing my opinions, which were vastly diverse from the rest of the eager hand-raisers, and I had a feeling of personal intelligence, a feeling that is typically muted by the grades and competitiveness of my school. I don’t mean this in a hoity-toity manner, neither do I feel above any of my peers. I do feel, however, that I was taught from my infancy to do something that many people are just now learning: How to think for myself. This principle, which I considered a hindrance until just recently, is the reason I am the way the that I am. It is the reason I don’t feel all that comfortable in a classroom setting. It is the reason I laugh when students ask questions like, “Is this going to be on the test?” and “I didn’t find that in the syllabus, where is it?” Everything I do is in an effort to expand my mind, not impress professors. I seek to impress those that matter, for instance the two shining souls who taught me this strange way of doing things, my parents. I seek to impress myself and push myself and be the best I can be. I can’t help but to pity those around me who are worried about public opinion and who, for fear of standing out, do everything exactly how they were asked to.

Granted, my interesting learning technique would be better suited at a University that wasn’t so conservative, marriage driven, and full of carbon copies, however, I have decided that I add something new to the curriculum. A WOMAN who isn’t so much worried about GPA (although who isn’t a little worried about GPA, I mean I would like to be adorned with ropes when I graduate) as she is about expanding her horizons, doing something new, trying everything and becoming who I was born to become.