My First Bells

 The bells have started chiming every fifteen minutes, partitioning the day and serving as a constant reminder to stay on task lest another moment be lost. They also reminded me that I haven't been writing here in awhile.

One excuse is that I've been so busy. But isn't everyone here? They all run eight things and go to another ten meetings for clubs that they're part of. Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough, even though I barely have the time to call home and do my laundry.

To try to keep track of everything, I jot little notes about what I want to write about down in my planner, but when I get back home (yes, the dorm is finally home now) I do work and watch Gilmore Girls and then collapse in bed. 

But life goes on even when I don't have the time to reflect on it. Here's a quick summary of what's been happening:

Last week I wrote an article for the Phoenix about two men that came to give a lecture on environmental and human rights issues concerning the coal mining industry. An hour before the lecture, I sat down to interview the two quirky characters. But to my surprise, their main interest was asking me questions. The 94 year old retired congressman Ken Hechler '35 asked me about my major and career plans. I felt silly that I didn't have some sort of decisive response but at the same time, honored that a congressman concerned with improving the lives of those affected by coal mining took the time to get to know me. Of course, a man as old as that has lost his hearing, so it became a bit of a shouting match, but I relished it nonetheless.

Actually, last week was quite writing intensive. I also had to write my first Swarthmore paper. Quite a daunting task, even though it was only three pages. I fretted, worried, lost all my fingernails, but in the end I got it done. In addition to producing a paper, I also produced a substantial amount of self-knowledge: I hate Philosophy. Coming in to college I always thought I'd want to study it, but now that I'm taking a class on it, I've changed my mind entirely. I thought it would be a bit like English, except with the ideas presented in a more transparent manner. But I find myself missing meeting characters on the page. In those instances, writing a paper is a bit like visiting old friends.

That was way too much text at once. More later. Off to read Descartes!

My First Awesome Connection

It hit me right in the middle of Intro to Philosophy: Socratic questioning is just like the Gaussian Method for row reduction. I probably sound like a lunatic. But in truth, I'm just a Swattie. Something about the way Socrates tried to make all the men in Athens see in the contradictions in their arguments made me think of what Dr. Hunter had taught us in Linear Algebra about solving systems of equations. 

This idea was so important to me that I scribbled it down in my planner. But when I looked at it again, it seemed kind of silly, and I couldn't quite grasp the connection or the excitement any more. But then I realized I had my first awesome connection (so I got excited again). I wanted to come here (to Swarthmore) so that I could take a math class just because I wanted to and not have my advisor think that was a waste of time. And now that otherwise unnecessary math class had suddenly given me a new insight and a new way to understand philosophy. Yay!