I'm a Human Being, number 957008-1.
I don't think I'm weird, but no one has yet to claim I'm all that average. I believe in individuals, not stereotypes and make a sincere effort to remain open minded in the face of humankind's vast differences but then again, I am a total stereotype myself and have on of those strong personalities that tend towards polarizing.
So here I am: a mousy geek of a girl with a strong head and a bleeding heart, raised on good old fashion guilt and sarcasm, who's to do list includes getting her Ph.D. and saving the world. As you can see, I'm very realistic in my goals.
It doesn't feel honest to just start claiming that I'm very loyal or that I have mastered sarcasm and expect you to believe me. I'm not a fan of flat, lifeless summaries. The why is more important than the what, so if you want to know who I am, well, here is what I believe, ideas and values I hold close to my heart and that have shaped my life in turn.
- I believe that friendships are some of our most important bonds, and while our culture glamorizes romantic love friendship is played off as 'those people you hang around with before you find your soul mate'. Yet friendships came be more balanced and stable than any other relationship in a person's life.
- I believe that having passion for something - a subject, a hobby, an ideology - is not as negative as some people assume. We call it "obsession" and brand it as weird. Geeks are just people who don't hide their fixation. I don't understand why we should always be 'reasonable' and not get emotional invested. How many revolutions were started by people who felt, "sort of kinda" about their cause? I hardly think Einstein was kicking around relative theory out of boredom, and why Miranda's impassioned declaration, "O brave new world!" has outlasted Shakespeare's lesser known quote, "Meh."
- I believe I would be happier as an untenured, underpaid, overworked professor teaching lower level literature courses at some unremarkable university while scrapping by just enough for broken down, one room apartment in Harlem or even Jersey than I could ever be living a cushy upper class lifestyle sponsored by corporate greed and privilege.
- I believe that so many problems in this world could be solved by education efforts. The level of anti-intellectual rhetoric used by certain politicians and pundits and so pervasive in certain cultural pockets makes me ache. It is never a bad thing to stop and think. Why is learning now considered "east coast elitism"? Why is it we would rather see kids drop out or join the military out of desperation and lack of options than offer trade and technical schools and viable options? They could help so many people, and yet we assume college prep, only mentioning alternatives when a student has already failed. New York has started creating a small school program where students are given a choice of specialized high schools including trade based curriculum. These programs are helping to graduate students that before were seen as having little to no chance of even getting through high school, never mind higher education. Harvard only accepts some 20,000 new students a year. We should stop teaching 'fall backs for failures' and start promoting options.
- I believe in us, and that down to the individual level people want to be good, and most people believe that racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination are wrong. Unfortunately, while the courts and legislators can hand down laws and create legal equality, we still struggle to bring about social equality and sometimes people's good intentions stand in the way of change. Because social equality means bringing about a change in culture, in group values, in the way we publicly treat others and the hatred children learn from all the unspoken, latent bigotry. How do you address the racist messages hidden in our culture if people can't accept that they can be both good and also have subconscious prejudices. At the same time, I don't believe, but KNOW, that eventually we can overcome these cultural biases.
- I believe that Firefly is one of the greatest Sci-Fi shows ever aired, because the future should be dirty and used and preferably occupied by space cowboys. That Bram Stoker's "Dracula" is still be the pinnacle of vampire novels, which isn't difficult since "he's a vampire" has became a flaw in the same way "she's almost TOO nice" is a flaw - an excuse for the author to create flat and boring characters and claim that they're layered because they have tortured souls and a closet full of black capes. That between the two of them Orwell's "1984" was far scarier and had more cultural impact but Huxley's "Brave New World" was the better written of the two, and it's style will see it entered into literary canon far sooner. That even though Vernes was more prolific and realistic, Wells had a more imagination. That if forced to choose between the wits of Twain, Parker, Wilde, and Shaw the result would be the literary equivalent of dividing by zero. That the original Star Wars films were just as poorly written and relied on visual tricks but it had Han Solo so no one cares (Han Solo trumps even Lucas's attempt at dialog). And, yes, Midna IS a cooler princess than Zelda.
I don't think I'm weird, but no one has yet to claim I'm all that average. I believe in individuals, not stereotypes and make a sincere effort to remain open minded in the face of humankind's vast differences but then again, I am a total stereotype myself and have on of those strong personalities that tend towards polarizing.
So here I am: a mousy geek of a girl with a strong head and a bleeding heart, raised on good old fashion guilt and sarcasm, who's to do list includes getting her Ph.D. and saving the world. As you can see, I'm very realistic in my goals.
It doesn't feel honest to just start claiming that I'm very loyal or that I have mastered sarcasm and expect you to believe me. I'm not a fan of flat, lifeless summaries. The why is more important than the what, so if you want to know who I am, well, here is what I believe, ideas and values I hold close to my heart and that have shaped my life in turn.
- I believe that friendships are some of our most important bonds, and while our culture glamorizes romantic love friendship is played off as 'those people you hang around with before you find your soul mate'. Yet friendships came be more balanced and stable than any other relationship in a person's life.
- I believe that having passion for something - a subject, a hobby, an ideology - is not as negative as some people assume. We call it "obsession" and brand it as weird. Geeks are just people who don't hide their fixation. I don't understand why we should always be 'reasonable' and not get emotional invested. How many revolutions were started by people who felt, "sort of kinda" about their cause? I hardly think Einstein was kicking around relative theory out of boredom, and why Miranda's impassioned declaration, "O brave new world!" has outlasted Shakespeare's lesser known quote, "Meh."
- I believe I would be happier as an untenured, underpaid, overworked professor teaching lower level literature courses at some unremarkable university while scrapping by just enough for broken down, one room apartment in Harlem or even Jersey than I could ever be living a cushy upper class lifestyle sponsored by corporate greed and privilege.
- I believe that so many problems in this world could be solved by education efforts. The level of anti-intellectual rhetoric used by certain politicians and pundits and so pervasive in certain cultural pockets makes me ache. It is never a bad thing to stop and think. Why is learning now considered "east coast elitism"? Why is it we would rather see kids drop out or join the military out of desperation and lack of options than offer trade and technical schools and viable options? They could help so many people, and yet we assume college prep, only mentioning alternatives when a student has already failed. New York has started creating a small school program where students are given a choice of specialized high schools including trade based curriculum. These programs are helping to graduate students that before were seen as having little to no chance of even getting through high school, never mind higher education. Harvard only accepts some 20,000 new students a year. We should stop teaching 'fall backs for failures' and start promoting options.
- I believe in us, and that down to the individual level people want to be good, and most people believe that racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination are wrong. Unfortunately, while the courts and legislators can hand down laws and create legal equality, we still struggle to bring about social equality and sometimes people's good intentions stand in the way of change. Because social equality means bringing about a change in culture, in group values, in the way we publicly treat others and the hatred children learn from all the unspoken, latent bigotry. How do you address the racist messages hidden in our culture if people can't accept that they can be both good and also have subconscious prejudices. At the same time, I don't believe, but KNOW, that eventually we can overcome these cultural biases.
- I believe that Firefly is one of the greatest Sci-Fi shows ever aired, because the future should be dirty and used and preferably occupied by space cowboys. That Bram Stoker's "Dracula" is still be the pinnacle of vampire novels, which isn't difficult since "he's a vampire" has became a flaw in the same way "she's almost TOO nice" is a flaw - an excuse for the author to create flat and boring characters and claim that they're layered because they have tortured souls and a closet full of black capes. That between the two of them Orwell's "1984" was far scarier and had more cultural impact but Huxley's "Brave New World" was the better written of the two, and it's style will see it entered into literary canon far sooner. That even though Vernes was more prolific and realistic, Wells had a more imagination. That if forced to choose between the wits of Twain, Parker, Wilde, and Shaw the result would be the literary equivalent of dividing by zero. That the original Star Wars films were just as poorly written and relied on visual tricks but it had Han Solo so no one cares (Han Solo trumps even Lucas's attempt at dialog). And, yes, Midna IS a cooler princess than Zelda.
