"Jumpman, jumpman, I don't need no introduction." - Drake, "Jumpman"
Once again, like a great film, a day at work, a drive, the wait for a long and restful vacation, or another anticipated event, the end of my sophomore fall term at North Central College has concluded before it even seemed to start. Another briskly paced, often relentlessly hectic, but seriously enjoyable ten week trimester has concluded and I'm left with a month off to contemplate, plan, and move forward. With no interim class over my winter break and just a few spurts of heavy work shifts over the holidays, this next month is about catching up on films, writing, and personal enrichment, as well as dealing with how to approach the subsequent winter and spring terms I'll soon be indulging in and soon be writing about.
This term in college has undoubtedly been the best one yet; from the first day on campus, I felt different vibes, found more friends to connect with, and ultimately, stuck to the advice and plan I shaped for myself in "Life is a bitch, but I appreciate her," the reflection blog for my spring term at the conclusion of my freshman year. The goal was pretty simple: incite random conversations, make connections with people that will last and are bent on real emotions, continue to be honest and loyal to people, spend more time on campus, and start taking a piece of that fabled college pie that makes everyone reflect upon the respective four years as "the best years of their life."
It was about time to begin doing that and I certainly did; I hit the ground running with three courses, Intro to Film and Screen Studies, the introductory film course for North Central's brand new film minor, Newsgathering, a media course bent on the journalistic process, and Reading Literature, the required literature analysis and appreciation class for all English majors, and a desire to meet new people. My schedule remained only two days a week, so with a truncated amount of time I'd be on campus, still being a commuter, this time was as valuable as ever. The second day into my fall term saw me on campus from 7:30am to about 6:00pm, so I could leave and catch a screening for the new film "Captive" due to a congested weekend ahead. Most school days, Tuesdays and Thursdays to be exact, saw me on campus from about 7:30am to roughly 6:00pm or 6:30pm at night, as well, despite my last course ending at 4:00pm. With that, I used the time to socialize, grab dinner with friends, or simply work on homework or reviews.
The result was the best term of my college career thus far; a more involved term on a social level, a more immersive college experience, being I spent significantly more time on campus, and a more thought-provoking education defined by three classes that really defined what I loved in life. With film and screen studies, I got an unbelievably elaborate lesson in a different technical aspect in film each day, be it sound, cinematography, and narrative, or even more conceptual ideas such as genre, race, and gender. The class was rigorous, with several different responses each week and quizzes one couldn't pass with just basic knowledge of the units, but I got much more out of the class than I ever expected to, especially with me being so involved with film.
In Newsgathering, I was enriched with commentary on journalism and the practices of the medium, including debates on ethics and interviewing practices. It was another course defined by lengthy responses each week and quizzes that had one writing at least three or four medium-length essays. A tight-knit bunch of serious students and a wonderful professor made it the enjoyable course that it was. Finally, with Reading Literature, the class was largely predicated off of analyzing a variety of different works (everything from Jane Austen's Emma to Chris Ware's subversive graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, William Shakespeare's Hamlet, and selected works of poetry). Dolled out during the course were, once again, several writing assignments, including one paper of about seven or eight pages, and sporadic quizzes of varying weight.
I only expound on my courses this term in great detail because, I feel, this was the term that had most of my spirits higher because the courses I was taking were thought-provoking and so different, yet so similar. On this same blog, you can see a lengthy analysis on the film Boogie Nights, which I did for my film class, and on Youtube you can watch "Steve Pulaski Reads Just for You," a self-parody I did for my Reading Literature class showing me reading three piece of poetry.
However, classes can only get one so far, as I've proven with my three previous blogs on my three previous terms. This term was also made strong thanks to the wonderful people I got to meet and know over the course of eleven weeks. If there was any loose theme to the people - like last year, mostly women - that I've met this year, it's people with a wealth of talent and intelligence, but a series of difficult circumstances they must overcome. First and foremost was Maria, one of the most tolerant women I've come to know at North Central so far. It took only about three weeks to really acquaint myself with her, as she was in both my film and literature class, and it wasn't long before I'd disrupt her formerly peaceful walks back to her dorm with nonsensical and ultimately meaningless musings on film, music, sex, and the class we just endured. She was always up for a good conversation (by conversation, I mean one where I talk for the most part and she listens and interjects moments of disbelief and shock).
What allowed her to let me ramble on for an unconscionable amount of time when she had homework and other more thought-provoking things she could've been doing with her time is still a mystery to me today. Even now, in the midst of a long and optimistically restful winter break, I still find myself reaching out to her because I love her aura of authenticity and her impeccable listening skills. She's the kind of person you could easily miss in a sea of louder, more brazen people, but she has more insights and kindness in her than most others.
I found myself connecting more and more to Carli, whom I'm sure I mentioned in previous blogs as one of my first friends at North Central College next to my other friend Dan. By connecting, I mean, once again, random musings throughout the day and editing her analyses for literature that she swore were horrible (they were nothing of the sorts). In addition, I found a stronger connection with an inspiring young woman named Emily, who's incredibly moving piece I just featured on my blog this past week, a young social activist looking to take the small campus of North Central and use it as a playing ground for social justice. Rather than being somebody on Tumblr or Reddit that rants about wanting change without doing anything to motivate it, Emily is different in that she actually throws herself on the frontlines and gets involved in North Central College's environmental and contemporary issues events in a way that brings many of her like-minded peers to shame. She's an uncompromising force, and her prolific modesty in her always remaining humble about her actions keeps her the likable and unbelievably wise soul that she is. I pestered her long enough to write a piece for my blog, and am happy to announce that she's in the process of creating her own blog within the next few weeks. I hope she knows I will constantly support and promote it.
Furthermore, my literature class also found me acquainting with two souls, whom I find consistently motivated to do well, but burdened by circumstance. My friend Megan, for one, finds herself under a great deal of pressure in terms of finances and family issues, but still pushes forward with her academics and effervescent kindness. I had the privilege of attending homecoming with my friend Crystal and her group of lovely ladies this year, and Megan and her boyfriend Luke were abruptly placed at our table. Rather than giving them the cold shoulder, I spent most of the night talking and joking with them, being that I knew Megan from my literature class, as well. Megan's aura is what gets her by, as she's always positive and charming on the exterior, despite what may be eating at her from the interior.
Vicki, a woman in my literature class, is a similar case; transferring from a community college to North Central, Vicki and I talked a great deal about her struggles to adapt to the rigor and the demanding nature of our school's trimester system. Being in a class like literature, which calls for a great deal of self-expression, prompted Vicki to really think introspectively and write a lovely but emotionally potent piece about the love for her father. I couldn't believe the thought and emotion that was put forth behind the piece, a reworking of W.H. Auden's famous and anthologized "Stop All the Clocks." Another typically modest and uncertain soul, Vicki wasn't sure how she made the class feel, or if the quality of her piece was not too morbid for the class. I assured her it wasn't, and still admire Vicki's drive to really put forth her best effort, despite so much eating at her that it would make any ordinary soul collapse.
But undoubtedly, one of the most eclectic and heartwarming souls I've yet to meet in college so far is Marissa. The lead singer for Dead Feathers, a rising psychedelic rock band, she is uncommonly original and unburdened by convention in her fashion and her approach to new people. I've spent the most amount of time with her out of everyone on campus, and the second day I knew her, we were already divulging personal details about one another: she'd listen to me spew all my nonsense about films, alcohol, love, and heartbreak, and I'd hear her out and assist her through her relationship with her boyfriend and her desire to simply get the hell out of college and move on, with her being a senior. At the end of the term, just a little over a week ago, she told me how I really kept her from dropping out of college, with my advice and my willingness to go "antiquing" with her on a Tuesday afternoon, or to a Middle Eastern restaurant I had never been to nor ever anticipated going to. We have a friendship that thinks of one another as a rock, but respects one another enough to be emotionally honest and willing to talk about anything; there are few others I could text at 2:00am with news positive or negative and expect to get a response from, which I feel says the most about her.
This piece got way longer than it needed to be, but this, while not perfect nor on-par with what I'm used to, was the college experience I was craving in "Life is a bitch, but I appreciate her" blog to sendoff my first year of college. With this first term my sophomore year, I found numerous people thanks to the power of random conversations and a desire to immerse myself in experience and not just academics. Following this month of December off from school (unlike last year, I will not take an interim course), I will be taking Sex, Gender, and Sexuality, News Editing (basically the sequel class to Newsgathering), and Introduction to New Media with the same goals I had when I first came to college: swing straight for the fence and drop my nuts down on the plate.
KEY SONGS OF THE TERM (FIVE SONGS THAT WERE A PART OF MY DAILY PLAYLIST THIS TERM IN COLLEGE):
READ MY OTHER COLLEGE BLOGS:
I respect your enthusiasm in writing whatever presents itself in your direction.
ReplyDeleteDearly appreciate you reading. Once more, it comes with my love for writing, giving respect and recognition to those I've met over the last few months, and my desire to keep capsules of events. I'm just glad I'm mostly understood in terms of what I'm trying to accomplish with these posts. Once more, thank you for reading.
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