Not sure if I mentioned this, but I'm a full-time college student. I carry 5 classes, which is 15 hours of "seat time" and another 30 hours of homework per week. Yes, the teachers all made sure to remind us to expect 2 hours of homework for each in-class hour per week, so 6 hours a week per class. Anyway...
I have been pretty surprised that many of my classes require as a first assignment to be a written essay or speech to the class that has us bring in or display a slide show of OBJECTS that have INTENSE MEANING, or DEFINE WHO I AM, or HOLD THE MOST OR MOST IMPORTANT MEMORY for me. Really???!!! I've had to bring in something I supposedly collect, articles of clothing that are supposed to define me, photo collages of things that describe me...I wish I could get an A by handing in a blank piece of paper, or do a slideshow of blank slides, then give a speech or essay about how things don't do that for me, they don't define who I am, I am not represented by logos and brand names, and oh, for 5 minutes to publicly explain minimalism and intentional, simple living!!! Then I get to sit through classmates' stories about how they value their Gucci sweatshirt, their Louis Vuitton purses, or Michael Kors clothing, watches, etc.
I may get close next week. I told my teacher in public speaking that I'm a minimalist so I won't be able to truly do what she asked. I asked if I could bring in a photo of my capsule wardrobe, explain how I'm a minimalist, and why having a capsule wardrobe is more important to me than two closets full of clothes I've collected for decades. She's allowing it - so we'll see how she grades it.
My English teacher still hasn't graded my photo asking for a collage of meaningful things that describe me and it's been several weeks now. I'll give you the gist of it. Picture a bare metal, mirrored end table, against a stark white wall, reflecting a bible and a glass of water. It looked like a professionally done poster, and better than some of the other students who just piled stuff on a desk without any artistic effort. The glass I wrote is my "the glass is always more than half full" attitude and my faith is the most important thing to me. It's the foundation of my values, thoughts, and how I treat others as I go through this life. Simple. Intentional. Artistic. We'll see what she thinks.
For Communication I needed a slide show of 3 items complete with a detailed story of why those things are important. I brought in 3 baseball items (opening day ticket, season ticket holder pass, and a signed baseball). I turned it around though. I spoke of how baseball brought me and my daughter close at a tough time in her life. My speech was essentially about her and our relationship, while the things were just evidence of experiences we enjoyed together.
Can you imagine asking this in any other country than America? In many countries, the most important things are often the ONE pot the family's meals are cooked in, the ONE pair of shoes given at the right time, or the ONE book smuggled into an area where they are forbidden or not something that people can afford? Such materialism. It's so awful.
So here's a question for you: If you had to write about, give a speech on, or display a slideshow of THINGS that are important to you, or define you...what would you do? It's hard when you know your memories are in your mind, not "in" the object. I'd love to hear from you on this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment