My Life as I know It

I want to be a professor.
Je veux etre en prof de l'histore ou philosophie.
After SBL and all sorts of other amazing opportunities that have become not only tangible, but within reach, I cannot imagine doing anything else. Which leads me to my next thought, now that I've figured out what I want to "be" when I grow up, does that push me closer to "being" grown up? The details may not be clear, but the outline is starting to shift into focus:

Study Abroad: Israel -- Junior Year -- France: Fall 2010 -- Graduate --Fulbright or Rotary (study somewhere amazing for a year) -- Come back to the US and start Ph.D. track.

I know its hazy, but at least it's something.

Two things need to be on that path:

God and Travel. (check?)

I Dwell in Possibility

Amy and I are going to go to area grade schools and teach art history and theory.

Needless to say, I'm excited!

sinking feeling

Three presentations tomorrow. I can't sleep... my brain is full of Levi Ben Gershon and Alexis de Tocqueville. At the end of this week I have a big paper due in Jackson as well. It looms over me... and taunts the fact that I will not be sleeping much this week. I should work on it now, while I am restless and full of honey coffee, but no - my brain is dead... but, my fingers are not. This combo suits a blog entry but not a term paper.

Lauren attempts to summarize Aristotelian / Scholastic philosophy: fun!

Everything in the realm of sights and sounds consists of matter or form. (The two cannot exist simultaneously). Matter is potential and form is actual. For example, a blank canvas has the potential to be painted, but when it is painted on (matter) it shifts to an actual form. It cannot both be potentially and actually painted, thus the terms are contradictory. Therefore, a potential cannot act on a potential, an external force is necessary for change to occur. This force could not have moved itself, so it would need a different external force to act on it (read: domino effect). However, in the realm of sights and sounds there cannot exist an infinite number of forces. (That would be contradictory as well) So there needs to be one force that moves all other forces but remains unmoved. Enter Aristotle's notion of an unmoved mover. Basically, in order for there to be a finite chain of action, the first movement must be unmoved. Reverting back to the principle that potential cannot act on potential, how then does the unmoved mover cause the first movement? The answer is summarized in love. The second effectual force is drawn to the unmoved mover (thus set into motion while the unmoved mover remains stationary). Think of a beloved object causing something to love it without it doing anything. Anyway, if we think of the unmoved mover as God and the sublunar world as creation, the creation is drawn to him.

Definitely butchered that. However, if I could explain it properly the concept is quite fascinating.

(I refuse to spell/grammar check blog entries.)

I have no talent for sitting still

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."
- Proverbs 16:9

All of my dreams make it inevitable that I will be disappointed with life. Since I know that now, I should surrender to God's will and just let him choose my course.

La Vita Nuova

In that book which is
My memory ...
On the first page
that is the chapter
when
I first met you
Appear the words ...
Here begins a new life

-Dante Alighieri

My paradox: I am in a four year relationship, in which I often lack the emotional capacity to be romantic. And yet, I love love poems.

On a completely separate strand - sometimes I pretend that people read this blog and grow fond of me. Not in a unrequited love sort of way, just in a -- well, that's why she's so odd - I get it, neat -- sort of way. How's that for revealing vanity? If I am vain, I'm the most insecure vain person I've ever met.

Want great abs? Catch what I've got!

I have caught my seasonal bout* of bronchitis. *How does one spell that type of bout? Ugh, I fail at spelling.

The only remedy I know of is to make hot tea and complain, thus this blog entry. I remember this time last year I had a blog entry about if you heal my aching back I'll scratch yours. I forgot how sore coughing makes me. It makes me so angry. STUPID COUGHING. I must be driving Mary and Emily crazy.

New Blog Idea

I have an idea for a blog, but I can't decide if it will be interesting.

I want to do a weekly blog on various articles that I find in the microfilm collection at our library. This would be a great thing to put on a graduate school application for history as well as be a fun outlet to write about all my research.

Naturally, I'd make it as interesting as possible.

I don't know, would you read it?

www.webbchange.com

Hey guys,

You should check out the above website. ESPECIALLY if you're from Truman.

The founder came in and talked to Phi Sigma Pi and I think it's a great idea. Wouldn't it be cool if the Truman community promoted the next big "facebook" or "google" type website?

Plus, it's an interesting idea: an online stock exchange based on user opinion of websites.

Cool!

Microfilm Research

I love doing microfilm research. While researching for my Age of Jackson paper, I found this humerous advertisement. (From: Antheneum; or, Spirit of The English Magazines 1831-1833)

How timely! (It's hard to see but it says, "Fashions for March")