Last call

Well. One JMC 3-hour elective down, 15 hours until graduation. What to do with this final blog post.

I had heard good things about Race, Gender & the Media from others who've taken it before. They talked about how the course taught them how to observe media critically, the good discussions that happened and how listening to different opinions made them a more-rounded individual.

I can't help but feel like I got something out of the class that they didn't, something from showing up to class and debating about relevant issues pertaining to American society's progress from its troubled past. I got to do it four days a week instead of only Tuesday and Thursday, sandwiched among 3-4 other courses during the same days.

I love listening to people who disagree with me. I feel I learn more, about their position and about mine. I learn about the strengths and weaknesses of my beliefs and opinions. The best courses I've taken in college have involved open exchanges of ideas from people who show up to class and care about what they're saying. When you see others who care about what they believe in enough to speak up, then you become inspired.

I took a class in the spring that was like that - English Literature of the Victorian Age in Gittenger Hall. When I signed up for that course last November, I thought it was going to be a standard, get-in-get-out snoozefest that was an easy B, or possibly an A if I gave a damn. The discussions we had in the class were awesome. We talked about capitalism, racism, imperialism, religion, sex, drugs and rock 'n roll (no joke). Even when we digressed, the conversations were lively, passionate and fluid. Classes like these are what college academia should be about; it should stand side-by-side with the extracurricular activities and fun you experience outside the classroom as an independent college student to make you grow as an individual.

Out of all the classes I've taken in my life, I have not gave a shit about 98 percent of them. And this is no offense to the professors and teachers who put a lot of effort and time into trying to teach unmotivated young'uns like myself, all the while not being compensated nearly enough, I think, for putting up with our BS.

I feel like I've learned more in that English course and this JMC course about how to empathize with how people feel about important, universal issues, than most of the schoolwork I've completed since pre-K. That's what it's all about. Some people like things the way it is. Others want to make a difference and they can't do that unless they become inspired to learn.