I'll do what I want, damn you
College, holy crap.
Tuition, holy motherfucking crap. I got a bill for $21,000 the other day. I never thought I'd say this, but thank god my financial aid hadn't come through yet...
anyway.
I've got all these people who think that what I'm doing is a bad idea.
For Example (I reserve the right here to be blatantly unfair, don't take it personally):
There's one group that seems to think:
"You shouldn't be going to college in the first place - college is a waste of time, they're just training you to become part of the corporate monster; and if you HAVE to go, why the hell did you pick a private, snooty, all women's liberal arts school? Why not someplace that's cheap and lets you choose where you live, or someplace that doesn't grade and has a shoes-optional policy?
Why the hell are you opting to take a full credit load? You're going to be totally burned out, don't say we didn't warn you...and are you crazy to be so damn excited about taking three languages in the same semester? I mean, why can't you just do those on your own? I learned Spanish on my own, and I went to Panama and Argentina and got along fine."
OK, I can relate to some of that. I agree that college isn't necessary to have a good job or a good life...just read Marty Nemko's Cool Careers for Dummies. You can become a certified lawyer in some states without a college education, as long as you pass the bar.
That aside, I actually want to go to college. That would get some guffaws from this group too...something about being mainstream, or that I think it'll be an awesome educational experience, but I'll see when I get there that it's all crap.
Another group thinks:
"3 languages in one semester? Sure, you'd be fine as long as you don't mind writing German words in the Greek alphabet, reading Latin with German pronounciation...and why would you want to take Greek and Latin anyway?? They're DEAD! You've already taken Latin for 5 years anyway...you should be fluent by now, what else are you trying to do? You're never going to make any money off of languages - that is, if you pass the classes to begin with taking all that stuff at once"
OK, now to be reasonable. Sort of.
I had a great conversation with Kate, my most recent Latin teacher and apparently my educational mentor, though neither of us planned it that way. She will probably never read this, so I will tell you about her.
She went to the college I'm going to for a year, and hated it. I'm hoping that my experience will be different. The basic order of events with her is that I go to her house, drink tea and talk about Latin students, try not to go crazy over how cute her kids are, and then we talk about school.
Out of all the people I've talked to, she and my parents are the only ones who think that I can handle what I'm wanting to do. 2 Intro-level language classes: Greek and German (or maybe French), and Latin 200 or 300, depending on where I get placed. That's 12 credits so far (16 is a full load)...then English 202, which is a writing-intensive class and focuses on Western classics (from Homer to Dante...i.e. I'll be reading material I've already got a handle on). 16 credits.
Add to that choir for 2 credits, and 2 PE classes for 2 more credits. Believe it or not, those will help me relax and get through the rest of it.
Kare says it sounds like an easy semester. Being the only person I know who knows both me and the college quite well, I trust her.
I will not be told that I cannot do this, and I will not be told that it's a bad idea - any of it. You're welcome to try, of course. But if I actually hear you I might lose my resolve. And honestly, the fact that they think I can't do it is just egging me on to show them what's possible.
Tuition, holy motherfucking crap. I got a bill for $21,000 the other day. I never thought I'd say this, but thank god my financial aid hadn't come through yet...
anyway.
I've got all these people who think that what I'm doing is a bad idea.
For Example (I reserve the right here to be blatantly unfair, don't take it personally):
There's one group that seems to think:
"You shouldn't be going to college in the first place - college is a waste of time, they're just training you to become part of the corporate monster; and if you HAVE to go, why the hell did you pick a private, snooty, all women's liberal arts school? Why not someplace that's cheap and lets you choose where you live, or someplace that doesn't grade and has a shoes-optional policy?
Why the hell are you opting to take a full credit load? You're going to be totally burned out, don't say we didn't warn you...and are you crazy to be so damn excited about taking three languages in the same semester? I mean, why can't you just do those on your own? I learned Spanish on my own, and I went to Panama and Argentina and got along fine."
OK, I can relate to some of that. I agree that college isn't necessary to have a good job or a good life...just read Marty Nemko's Cool Careers for Dummies. You can become a certified lawyer in some states without a college education, as long as you pass the bar.
That aside, I actually want to go to college. That would get some guffaws from this group too...something about being mainstream, or that I think it'll be an awesome educational experience, but I'll see when I get there that it's all crap.
Another group thinks:
"3 languages in one semester? Sure, you'd be fine as long as you don't mind writing German words in the Greek alphabet, reading Latin with German pronounciation...and why would you want to take Greek and Latin anyway?? They're DEAD! You've already taken Latin for 5 years anyway...you should be fluent by now, what else are you trying to do? You're never going to make any money off of languages - that is, if you pass the classes to begin with taking all that stuff at once"
OK, now to be reasonable. Sort of.
I had a great conversation with Kate, my most recent Latin teacher and apparently my educational mentor, though neither of us planned it that way. She will probably never read this, so I will tell you about her.
She went to the college I'm going to for a year, and hated it. I'm hoping that my experience will be different. The basic order of events with her is that I go to her house, drink tea and talk about Latin students, try not to go crazy over how cute her kids are, and then we talk about school.
Out of all the people I've talked to, she and my parents are the only ones who think that I can handle what I'm wanting to do. 2 Intro-level language classes: Greek and German (or maybe French), and Latin 200 or 300, depending on where I get placed. That's 12 credits so far (16 is a full load)...then English 202, which is a writing-intensive class and focuses on Western classics (from Homer to Dante...i.e. I'll be reading material I've already got a handle on). 16 credits.
Add to that choir for 2 credits, and 2 PE classes for 2 more credits. Believe it or not, those will help me relax and get through the rest of it.
Kare says it sounds like an easy semester. Being the only person I know who knows both me and the college quite well, I trust her.
I will not be told that I cannot do this, and I will not be told that it's a bad idea - any of it. You're welcome to try, of course. But if I actually hear you I might lose my resolve. And honestly, the fact that they think I can't do it is just egging me on to show them what's possible.
posted by Alex at 9:48 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home