(no subject)

[rm]

Once upon a time I wanted to be a classics major so I could spend my life being an academic eccentric and wearing my fabulous little oxblood wingtips (oh how i miss those shoes). This desire may have very well led to the very expensive and slightly bizarre (as my current clothing is in a specific historical period sort of way) suit I wore to my Northwestern interview that got me rejected in a heartbeat. Not normal, this girl.

At any rate, it's one of those neither here nor there things from my past. I got to be an adjunct in journalism for a semester at Queens College when I was way too young to do it, and it was close enough and I've done it, and whatever.

But suddenly I'm surrounded by academics, professionally, personally, and I suppose you could even say recreationally, considering recent reading tastes.

And it's really quite comical. And I feel profoundly, smirkingly, delightfully out of place with it. But knowledgeable enough about it all to get why I'm amused.

Comments

[lanthinel.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'm sitting here with a headcold looking at Bob the Angry Flower online when I suddenly read how he saw Hamlet as Electra and Orestes (out of Classic Lit, of course). This set off the "oh, Duh!" literatician part of my brain that had me thinking about it and even emailing a prof who taught Shakespeare and Classic Lit asking "Dude! Is this a critical commonplace or did I just miss the clue train on this one?" :) Well, not quite like that, but y'know.

[askeladden.livejournal.com]

Once upon a time I wanted to be a classics major so I could spend my life being an academic eccentric and wearing my fabulous little oxblood wingtips.

Oh, me too, me too. And dating one is double-edged -- sure, it gives me a twinge now and then to realize my Greek will NEVER EVER EVER EVER BE THAT GOOD, but, on the other hand... gleurk. I just don't have it in me, it's not really my calling (just a comfortable niche I would have liked to hide out in, hermit-crab style, if I had gotten the chance), and it's nice to be able to dip into (though vicariously) at will instead of being yoked to it.

So, all in all, I'm with ya. Not to say I wouldn't like to buff up my chops a little (formally speaking), but it feels good to know that being a wannabe Man of Letters and being an Academic ain't always necessarily completely congruent.