Vissable Views

Archive for January, 2011

In total I’ve spent several hours on the topic of where I would go if I could anywhere in the world. In short, I choose Germany. If this surprises you then I truly feel many pounds of pity for your lack of knowledge. But anyways, since I love Germany that makes it a quick pick if I had to choose where to go on vacation. But the topic of which two people I would take is much more complex. My blood says I should take my two siblings. But on closer inspection that just isn’t a good idea. None of my family, at face-value, has what it takes to appreciate the compounded value of a vacation to Germany. Additionally, to choose any of my family would overlook the close friends that I socialize with in my German Rank 3 course. I like my German friends and, like me, they share an abounding love for all that is Deutsch. That said my two guests would certainly come from my German class. Then, considering best friends and girlfriends, things get a lot simpler very quickly. I would obviously pick one of my closest friends, a Mr. Zachary, as he is undeniably fun to hang with and a German aficionado. Lastly, I would take one of my close female friends as it would be a great mutual experience. Yes, that’s it, a great mutual experience.

I can’t say I like the holidays. I don’t like the increased excess that accompanies the winter months and I don’t like the way people seem to homogenize right after Thanksgiving Day. It’s probably a result of my rationality. Maybe I see Christmas as a reckless day of feasting and laziness, a 24 hours period soiled with a general lack of any actual substance.  I don’t like gifts much either. I don’t the fact that people feel that December 25 means that they are entitled to a motley assortment of high-priced presents. I don’t like that people give gifts merely because they know, or hope, they will get a gift in return. Maybe it’s because I see gift-giving as an altruistic act, an act of giving what is yours so as to augment what is someone else’s.  I like time off. I like not being burdened by the constraints of academics or socializing. But honestly, that’s about all I like. Because when the gift-giving wanes and the Turkey eating is over, all is left is a couple days when I don’t have to work for anybody but me.

2011. Plenty of hope. Plenty of fear. I’d like to say that I want much of the same to occur in 2011. But that would be a lie, an atrocious indictment of the disappointment that resulted from 2010. But it would also be a bit of truth, as a ton of good occurred in 2010.  I’d certainly like to see a rise in my involvement in things outside of academia. I would like to become a more active member of my community and increase by networking repertoire by making new friends and connecting with old enemies. I’d like to gain some offices in a couple clubs and increase my involvement in others. But I don’t want to sacrifice my intellectual pursuits. I am not looking forward to the rise in stress that will certainly accompany beginning my second semester. I am not looking forward to hours of work and studying every night at the expense of more favorable activities. I guess I do want more of the same. Or maybe I don’t. In 2011, I can’t really say what I am looking for. But at the heart of it all, I most certainly want to be me. A better me maybe, but still me.

2010. Another year finished. 365 days of wisdom gained.  A lot happened in 2010 and a lot didn’t happen in 2010. In many ways, that’s all it comes down to. The best that happened in 2010 seemed to be a realization of all the things that I hoped for in 2009. Unfortunately, the worst that happened in 2010 was the lack of a lot of what I hoped to happen this past year. What did happen were academics. Tons of academics. My life was literally consumed by academics. But the return on my investment was certainly more than I had hoped for. I’m talking about 4.5 GPA. Well, I may not have realized a perfect GPA but I certainly achieved a lot more than that. In 2010, I began my first step towards being a Merit Scholar, an achievement equivalent to being a Rhodes or Goldwater.  But plenty of nothing also occurred in 2010. Namely, my extracurriculars. While I am happy to see that my academics came together I am displeased to note that I did very little outside of school. I joined very few clubs and made very little progress in terms of climbing up the social ladder.  2010. Paradise lost, in a way.