Friday, April 29, 2011

What School Taught Me

I know what a gerund is*. I actually learned that this semester in one of my classes.

Why does this matter? Why am I starting a blog post about gerunds?

I'm not sure. Recently, I've been thinking about why I am in college and whether or not going to debt is worth it. Some of the classes I'm taking this semester are kind of pointless, at least to me there are. I like Law & Ethics, but I doubt that I'll use anything I've learned in this class in my life. For two reasons:

1. I knew a fair amount of the material covered from previous classes.
2. It's Law & Ethics. I don't know how to work the definition of pornography into everyday conversation.

The same principal can be applied to Writing for Media, News Writing, Grammar & Style, and Global Village. Not to say I didn't learn something in each of those classes, just not something that's going to help me in the foreseeable future. The only thing I learned was a few tidbits of pocket trivia (including gerunds!).

At least that's what I thought at first. I've come to realize that maybe these classes are not pointless. G&S has taught me about who I am as a writer. Global Village taught me more about my values than how other countries use media. And let's not forget the socialization I learning.

Ever since I left high school I have become awkward and shy. This semester I've pushed myself to not sit alone in my room and to talk with people. Overall, I think I've done a good job. Made some new friends, looked at boys, went to sports events to actually see the game (crazy I know).

So I've gone $30,000 in debt for intangible things. And here's the best part: I'm adding two more years and $60,000 before I'm done. I have second thoughts, but not regrets.

--Z

*A gerund is when a verb with the -ing ending is acting like a noun. Ex: Matt likes being a musician.

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