Thoughts from the Thinking

So, yesterday I moved out of my college house in Cincinnati and back into my parents’ basement (for a few months, I’m not one of those people). I won’t reflect much on my time in academia over the past 4 years since I am barely half way done with college classes (grad school is at least 3 more years of course work). However, I would like to reflect, if I may, on things that I learned outside of the classroom…

• First and foremost: you don’t really know how conservative or liberal you are until you meet other people. I thought I was conservative, religious, whatever, and then I met some really fantastic people who have helped to inspire me along the way. I also learned that extremes are very bad because there is a point on both sides of the spectrum where you are no longer Christian.
• You can’t know yourself until you know other people but you can’t judge yourself based on how other people judge you.
• You can’t truly be loved until you learn to love yourself. I wish I had known this earlier in life and I’m glad I had help learning to love myself for who I am.
• Life is pretty pointless if you spend it hiding in your room playing video games or watching movies or reading books. I like to do all of those things (yes, even reading books) but sometimes you have to get out, have fun, be with people. I’m not saying go out and get wasted every night but you have to meet other people and find people who have similar interests.
• On a related note: “moderation in all things” is a truly good saying. Always keep time for your faith and your school work but never lose sight of friends and having a good time. My friend and old roommate said to me: we work the books all week, but Friday night is Friday night. Get the work done, keep your faith (whatever that is, if you have one), and have at least some fun.
• Professors are actually pretty cool people if you get to know them. It also helps your final grade if they are your friend.
• Some people haven’t grown up by the time they get to college and that means you have to learn to live with them.
• There are some people out there that just don’t get along with other people and that is OK. You don’t need to be friends with everyone, you just have to respect everyone.
• Finally, and probably most importantly, I learned that Socrates was right when he said “The only thing I know is that I know nothing.” There is a certain sense of humility in going to college that I am glad I have come to discover. I am not the smartest person I know. My classmates in Honors A.B. are by far some of the most intelligent and hard working people I have met. In the end, there is always someone who knows more than you about something…surely I don’t know nothing.

I suppose this whole thing can be narrowed down to just three things: know yourself, moderation in all things, and you don’t know nothing. Oddly enough, those are all Greek proverbs (Oracle at Delphi for the first two and Socrates/Plato for the last one).

Anyway, now that I have gradamutated, I am now a level 2 Ivory Tower Elitist which means something, I’m sure, I’m just not sure what yet.