About Places

Iowa is basically one large corn field moving at horsespeed but still maintaining a steady pace with what we know to be progress. It is odd to think about how the largest city in this state still manages to have a population below 200,000. Nearby Cedar Rapids is about 128,000, meaning it is about the size of Ann Arbor. I think I need to get back to Detroit soon. It's just too quiet and slow paced out here for my tastes. I don't really have a problem with Iowa, it just leaves me feeling contained and caged up. I want to run off and go somewhere except that there really isn't anywhere for me to go within the surrounding area. Meh cows, corn, and drama.

So yeah the highlight of campus activities seem to be drinking, causing drama, and class. I just don't feel that excited to be an active participant in this drama. Maybe I can find something else?

About People

I've been in Iowa almost a week now and I have to say it leaves me feeling rather isolated. I think I am still getting over the shock of being so far away from everyone. It is hard not to let your mind wander to all of the things you have left behind though when there is very little to do on a Sunday afternoon that does not involve spending money. I really should go look for a job of some sort before I go too insane.

I guess my suitemates are alright. Taylor and Andrew tend to be rather high energy while Liz and Meredith are like the exact opposite. I really do not see much of Amanda or Jay so I cannot say I know them very well. My roomate Mark is also a bit of an enigma too. He has not said that much to me other than that he has a big family and that his aunt is dying.

I still really miss Ahra. I am still very much in love with her too but I can't say she anything towards me except a close friendship. I talked to Sarah last night about it and she described it as having a death grip on my past which does not allow me to experience new things. I don't think I am exactly like that. I just really hurt when I think about her and sometimes it is hard not to cry when I think of her. I really just want to pick up everything and go running back to her but I do not think that is the best option for me right now.

I just want her to know that I love her and I am still thinking about her no matter how far away she is. I am still waiting for her to send me her mailing address. I have this fun little button I wanted to send her. I just wish I did not feel so confused right now.

Late Night Writing

I started writing a letter to someone and I think I got a little off track. Anyway I think I got down to a bit of what I was trying to say with this:

I think a lot of it comes from seeing what happened when I look at my own culture and heritage. I see that is was only around 70 years ago that some people got this idea that they were going to destroy everyone and everything that was not like them. They were only going to have one way of thinking until everything was homogenized and the same. Anything that was otherwise was corrupted and impure.

For this I desire to contaminate myself with as many things that can be considered foreign and new as possible. I want to be able to look at someone like you and not just think we are equals but I want to feel this passionately. And if it comes down to making a choice, I want to choose humanity above any allegiance to race, creed or country.

Campus Tours Tomorrow

I have to give campus tours tomorrow and I have been taking some time to reflect on what I can do to accustom these new students to the campus. I guess I would like to be able to say that you can really get anywhere from OCC. I want to be able to tell them that OCC is not a place for fuckups, people too poor to afford real college, or a high school that lets you smoke on breaks. But it is.

And it is really all of that. Most of the people I meet with tomorrow are not going to turn their lives around and go onto the Ivy Leagues. Many of them will drop out, fail remedial courses, and give up on a situation they see as a hopeless dead end. And I think this really highlights the failure of the liberal arts education system.

merriam-webster.com defines the liberal arts as:

2 : college or university studies (as language, philosophy, literature, abstract science) intended to provide chiefly general knowledge and to develop general intellectual capacities (as reason and judgment) as opposed to professional or vocational skills.

Of course I doubt that many students in college would see their education in this sort of way. To them, a college education is their ticket to four-years of your parents paying for you to booze and fuck, after which you come out with a piece of paper allowing you to be paid more than your non-college educated peers. This essentially reduces the college education to little more than a pay to play extortion system. $50,000 in tuition dollars and you come out with a certification indicating you have been educated.

So what do I tell these kids? Do I tell them that the MACRAO transfer agreement is not actually followed by the two largest universities in the state? Do I tell them that to most universities, transfers are still treated as second rate in comparision to incoming freshman? I will have to think of something.

Corn Report

Lol Sarah wants me to tweet about how high the corn is. Unfortunately I still do not want to use Twitter or bow to the low of regularly typing with my thumbs.

New Blog

So I got bored and decided to create a new blog. I am not sure what I plan to do with it yet. For all I know this could be my first and last entry. Tell me what you think I should do.