Come One, Come All!

Imagine what high school would have been like if you took away the stress of "getting into college." No A.P. classes, volunteer projects, extracurricular activities, and SAT's begone! Begone countless applications and essays... tutors, general brown-nosing around recommendation time. And forget about the torture of waiting for the big acceptance-- will it be a fat or skinny envelope? What's the appeal process if I don't get in? What will I do if I don't get in?

Well, apparently all that hard work we did to get into college was pointless... because kids these days don't even need a high school diploma to get into college-- and all they have to do is complete a few courses to get their high school diploma-- COLLEGE COURSES, while they're there. This is fully deserving of a WTF moment.

The NYT reported on this phenomenon today; The major television news programs will likely follow suit this week (The Today Show suspectly mimics the NYT's major stories the day after...). And, okay-- it's certain caliber schools that are admitting non-high school grads into full time college programs, but again, WTF?

The Times reported that in some cases socially-minded schools are doing so to provide opportunities to students who may not have had them in high school, citing that students failing in high school may not reflect upon their academic abilities-- but outside factors such as home life, attention/interaction with teachers, etc. may have impeded them from succeeding in high school. But do they really think that it's going to be all that better in an often times bigger school? And does removing the student from the home (and many times, they're actually not physically removed from home) really remove them from their reality? Some schools too are doing it to take advantage of federal loans and scholarships-- and studies show that these students more often than not end up dropping out of college and defaulting on their loans-- leaving tax payers to pick up the pieces-- both socially and financially.

Maybe I'm missing something; but to me, it still begs the question, if they don't prove that they're capable of the commitment required for academic success by graduating high school, how can they be successful in persuit of higher education? And what about all those kids who have worked hard and HAVE graduated, who are getting rejected?

Possession

"What is it? My dear?"
"Ah, how can we bear it?"
"Bear what?"
"This. For so short a time. How can we sleep this time away?"
"We can be quiet together, and pretend-- since it is only the beginning-- that we have all the time in the world."
"And every day we shall have less. And then none."
'"Would you rather, therefore, have had nothing at all?"
"No. This is where I have always been coming to. Since my time began. And when I go away from here, this will be the mid-point, to which everything ran, before, and from which everything will run. But now, my love, we are here, we are now, and those other times are running elsewhere."

-- A.S. Byatt

Weddings and Celebrations

I remember one weekend during college when I was visiting my aunt and uncle in New Jersey and we were lounging in their living room reading the Sunday NYT. I was laying on the carpet, leafing through Arts & Leisure while my aunt perused Sunday Styles (my favorite section that I hoard even today until the rest of the paper is read and put away). I remember the sun filtering through the front windows; the lazy Sunday unfolding before us over late morning tea with the promise of a luxurious afternoon nap in the near future, when my aunt placed the paper on the ottoman and said, "you know, one day you're going to know someone in here."

"In where?" I asked.

"In the NYT weddings section," she answered.

I scoffed. How would I know anyone important enough for their wedding to be announced in the NYT?

"You'll see," she said, nodding matter-of-factly. "You go to Vassar; your friends are the people whose weddings are announced in the NYT."

I remember the first time I saw one such person. Okay, so she wasn't a friend, but she was someone that I went to school with, and I did know her, if only peripherally. And that Sunday with my aunt came flooding back and it was then-- two years ago, to be exact, that I realized that maybe my life wasn't ever supposed to be ordinary... and that my school, and my experience there and the people I met, meant something. I've always known that Vassar was a special place; going there was a decision-- maybe the best I've ever made, that changed my life. Vassar grads seem to be everywhere you turn-- on tv and in the movies; they're politicians and social activists; they're renowned businesspeople and scholars; they're artists and authors. It doesn't really sound like a lot; after all, many schools can claim famous alums. But when you consider Vassar's size (a mere 2,300 students when I was there, and even smaller the years prior), it's a lot more impactful. I guess until that point, I didn't consciously realize that "those Vassar grads" who were accomplished-- and famous, could be related to me. And that someday those people, could be me.

There have been other mentions of fellow Vassar grads in the prestigious NYT weddings section; and non-Vassar grads that I know-- or once knew, too. Today was one of those days-- the wedding of a childhood friend of a former, very dear friend (from Vassar) of mine was announced, in all its prominent glory. I read this section faithfully every weekend, and think about the people who are publicly declaring their love and starting this new journey together. It's something that makes me happy and sad, all at the same time. My immediate reaction was a smile spreading across my face-- these people who I knew years ago, who met in undergrad and who have worked so hard to become the accomplished people they are today, waiting until they had achieved what they dreamt of academically and had the plans for their professional future laid out in front of them, were finally getting married. And today is the day that they get to start a whole new adventure together. And what makes more sense than two people who love each other as much as they do, doing that?

But sometimes in these moments, sadness creeps in and I feel like I'm being left behind while my friends and loved ones are walking-- and in some cases running, along a path that I don't get to follow. With the flurry of weddings and babies surrounding you, most of the time you don't notice it. But every once in a while I do wonder if there will ever come a day where my wedding will be announced in the NYT.

Things That Make Me Smile

Everyday there are little things-- little observations of the world that humble me, make me angry, and most of all, make me smile. I try to file these things away for a rainy day, so to speak... to try to conjure up the happy things in the midst of a meltdown at work (the hitting your head against your desk moments that unfortunately for me has been a daily event, but I'm sure we've all felt). So I decided that I would write down those happy moments so when I'm having a bad day (tomorrow), I can remember these little things:

1. A man walking in front of me with the right leg of his trousers tucked into his sock
2. Listening to Sting and hearing him say "pro-gress" (British) rather than "praw-gress" (American)
3. Watching an oblivious man continually hit people in the head with his ridiculously large duffle bag as he walked down the aisle of the bus (yes, yes, a schadenfreude moment...)
4. Watching Paris Bennett sing with Al Jarreau (the only time this year that I've watched American Idol, but I have to say, the finalists better be damned good if this girl got kicked off...)
5. Spending my lunch hour (oh, okay... maybe a little... or a lot... longer than an hour) researching a potential vacation working on an archaeological dig in Romania
6. Talking to my sis and listening to her voice "laugh" as she looked at her smiling daughter
7. Eating an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from Potbelly's (which, if you haven't had one, are the PERFECT, still-slightly-doughy, undercooked cookies you've ever had).
8. Prince popping up in a surprise performance on American Idol (aren't I glad I tuned in)-- and holy crap, are those kids freakin' talented.
   
9. Top Chef (as a self-proclaimed "foodie", love, love, LOVE that show!!)
10. The Dixie Chicks' new album-- come on, peeps! REPRESENT!! Support the girls in the fight against the right-winged-closed-mindedness!

P.S.

Wow-- that was egotistical. My equating my blog as "fun" and all. And okay; while I'm confessing; there was really only one phone call...