Why Writing is Weird

Writing is a really strange academic. You really just need to convince someone that your writing is good, the way it’s evaluated is completely subjective. Thousands of years ago, you could spell however you wanted, and anyone who has read Shakespeare can tell you that the sentence structure has gone through some changes since then.

Which is why I think it’s a little strange to say that someone is “good at writing”. Because good writing is something different for everyone. What they’re actually good at is writing that suits the reader. Your teacher may not like it when you hand in fanfiction for an assignment, but people online might think that it’s amazing. How you are received depends on your audience.

This all gets multiplied 50x when you’re in college and are doing legit papers for multiple classes. Philosophy writing is totally separate from English writing, which is in a different sphere from Biology writing. So everything is very confusing.

But if all you have to do is convince someone that your writing is what they want, then supposedly you should be able to write a trashy paper and then hypnotize your teacher into thinking that writing “so” repeatedly is genius. Because there literally is no right answer at all!

This is what makes writing completely different from anything else, the closest thing to it is history and even that has some wrong answers in it. Writing is totally subjective, everything is in the eye of the beholder.

And that’s what sets it apart from the rest of the subjects, for once you can completely express yourself academically.

Importance of Freshmen Orientation at College

Orientation just ended a week ago at school, and being a sophomore I noticed some things that the freshmen were missing or that I was missing.

It’s getting you used to a whole new environment for starters. That means different things for different schools, if the administration has no idea what the student body is like, the orientation is going to stink. Look for student run events, those will usually be a better depiction than anything else.

You’re going to be dealing with different issues. I’m guessing this is the justification for the hours and hours of sex/alcohol that freshmen always get shoved down their throats at the beginning of the year. Everyone’s so overloaded with it that a good school will try to make it fun for the students, even if they have to sit through hours of it. But there also has to be a balance with the severity of the conversation, because these are serious subjects, we are kidding around here. Finding that line is super important, because this is their first exposure to the college and how it deals with these issues.

Demonstrating the diversity of the campus is always something that I notice. Sure, you can show off the great LGBTQ community there is, but the straight kids might feel a little left out. I know that it’s usually the opposite, but remember that there are people of all types and there needs to be something welcoming for everyone. The A does stand for ally, among other things.

Putting them into groups that might get along. My group didn’t, I spent all of freshman orientation alone. It’s partially my fault and partially the college’s, they should have realized that groups composed entirely of females aren’t going to hang out together if all the other groups are co-ed. I’m not sure what the solution there would be, but I do know that all of my current friends had an entirely different experience than mine. And they continue to do so since they are still close to their group and I’m not.

Freshmen orientation is one of those things that’s easy to dismiss, but it’s very important for anyone entering a new college. This is your new home, and the administration should make you feel welcome and introduce you to life here.

Why Modern Music Doesn’t Appeal to Me

So I’ve always been a pop music disliker, I can’t stand the stuff on the radio. Part of it is that it gets so overplayed, but that’s a different problem. (That’s more a problem with the radio than anything else, and suggests that I might like it if I wasn’t listening to it all the time. Which I wouldn’t.) The main issue is that most of it just doesn’t appeal to me.

So I decided to think about why that would be. Obviously this music developed out of the stuff that I like, so there has to be some similarities there. And many people do like music that’s popular now, so there has to be something good about it.

And the music I am talking to here is the generic stuff that you hear on the radio or at random events. I’m not talking about everyone who is popular now, but I think that at least one of the reasons why I don’t like this stuff applies to musicians popular now.

I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a few factors put together. First of all, like I mentioned earlier, we are forced to listen to this music all the time. Without any variety. In the supermarket, at a restaurant, with friends, anywhere. It’s different than it being overplayed because it isn’t so much that you get sick of hearing it, it’s that it follows you everywhere! And if you don’t like it, tough for you. I think just the pervasiveness of it causes a sort of knee jerk reaction away from it, and a refusal to accept it.

Similarly, there are so many songs marketed for my demographic, as in young people. There’s all of these songs about the same thing and you know it was created by a bunch of old white men trying to identify with the youth (sounds like the government…). Once again, that jerk away from it just on principle. Not everyone likes the same things, and there’s more to life than partying. Maybe reflect that in songs.

Then the most significant one, I think, is the fact that performers don’t have the same kind of passion anymore. You used to have people who loved it so much that they would struggle through it and turn down other careers for it. Now people are brought up in it, and don’t have to put that much effort into becoming a hit. And people used to get involved in every aspect of music making, now it’s just the voice that you hear that’s known. You can tell the difference between someone who takes pride and care in their work and someone who doesn’t. That has to be the biggest factor to me.

 

So that’s my view, once again, it’s not about everyone. But it’s me, and that has to count for something.

That “Time” Article on Narcissism and Why I Think Humanity Sucks

So Time magazine recently wrote an article on how little kids are narcissistic little brats, and I think it really explains a lot about my feelings towards other people.

To give some background, the article also had a quiz to determine if you were narcissistic or not, higher numbers meaning more self-absorbed. The average is a 4, I got a 2. I’m half as self-concerned as the average person (could be a good or bad thing).

But here’s the thing about me (and most people, I think): I have the hardest time understanding how other people think. If you are really concerned about this one topic that I don’t care about, then I have no idea why you are so fascinated by it. And vice versa, if I really like something then I don’t understand why you don’t like it.

So then if you are a narcissist, then I really really don’t get your fascination with yourself. Because I sure as hell am not that interested in you. Which is probably why I hate small children, because as the article says, they are all self-obsessed. Also, being the opposite of a narcissist isn’t helping me here because I don’t understand why anyone would be thinking about themselves, not just you in particular.

 

And I think I would blame most conflicts on this tendency of people. In order to end fights, you need to be able to see it from the other person’s point of view. And that’s something that not many people are doing, nor have they ever done. And I find that to be a little sad.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

So I'll be going back to school today, and my free time is going to dramatically decrease. I'll probably post maybe once a week as opposed to everyday now.
Bring it sophomore year!

The End: “Tuck” by Stephen Lawhead

Finally finished the series. All I really want in life is to run off to Robin Hood’s gang and fight evil with them.

I quite liked this ending. It involves Friar Tuck a lot, often asking for peace. Which is really an idea that you wouldn’t expect here, since the Middle Ages were not known for being very peaceful. Tuck is a very unconventional Friar, but I expect that makes him endearing to contemporary audiences. I know that I quite liked him.

Allan a’Dale also finally makes an appearance (Much is absent though, even though his character is mentioned in a song). He is a singer, of course, the traditional image of the outlaw. He can also speak several languages. That’s one of the good things about this series, the languages are pretty accurate, as far as I can tell. Sure it’s modern French, but I’m willing to give some leeway.

One of the cool aspects of this book, as opposed to the others, is that each part is preceded by a snippet of a ballad about Rhibran. This snippet is part of the larger trilogy, but it also reflects what’s happening in the novel as well. Which is quite interesting. This is where Much is mentioned, even though he never appears.

Of course, the book ends with Thomas a’Dale, Allan’s grandson (not sure if the timing of the generations is correct, but whatever), adapting the story of Rhibran to Sherwood and King John. Which is the legend as it is more commonly known. I liked it, the whole Robin becoming a legend thing is used a lot in portrayals, but it is a major part of the story. The process of the tale being immortalized is just as big as the story itself.

Overall, I thought that this was a great series. There isn’t enough contemporary stories of Robin Hood, it’s mostly children’s books. Need more books like this in my life!

What I Listen to When I’m Feeling Blue

So everyone does something different when they’re feeling a little down. Me, I tend to need swing music asap. Similar to the narrator from “The Drowsy Chaperone,” so I hope that means I’m not alone with this problem. (Oh it’s just me? That’s great…)

Anyways, a while back I put together this playlist for when I’m feeling blue. (It’s called “When I’m Feeling Blue” surprisingly enough.) And here’s my top inclusions and why I included it. (It’s also not really in any particular order.)

First of all, there’s songs from musicals. I’m talking Cole Porter and the Gershwins type stuff. I think you just know songs so much better when you have done a show that involves them. For starters, you have all of the lyrics and choreography to them memorized, and if you’re like me and tend to be in the pit, then you also know all of the instrumentation. They also have memories associated with them, like maybe “You’re the Top” brings to mind the good times putting on “Anything Goes!” and hanging out backstage with your friends and learning how to tap dance. (This may or may not reflect my life.) So there’s that.

Then there’s jazz pieces. Most of them are Duke Ellington big band type stuff, but there’s also Cannonball Adderly and Louis Armstrong. I’ve played most of them in jazz band, so once again I have my part memorized. (I’m convinced that Ellington hated his second alto player, because those parts tended to suck.) And they’re great to dance to, get you up and out of this slump!

And there’s songs covered by singers like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Sinatra was the person who really got me into swing, so of course there’s all of his stuff. And Ella is just amazing. Both of them had such talent, it just sounds so good to listen to them. And there’s also a few by Michael Buble and Tony Bennett thrown in there. I like having a few different versions of the same tune, because you hear a few different perspectives on it that way. Even just having a vocal and an instrumental version can be very telling.

So that’s the basics of my playlist. There’s also stuff like how I choose the order of songs and the mood and whatever, but these are the main components. But it’s really up to you, whatever makes you feel happy is what needs to be included.