Well, I'm raring to go and ready to fire off opinions. First, though, a little background about me before I start flame wars in this domain.
I'm a student at UCAS, and proud to be so - for those of you ignorant, that's the Utah County Academy of Sciences. It's a...very moderate facility on the northern end of Utah Valley University that's funded by a bunch of old farts who simultaneously care about educating the next generation but not necessarily elsewhere. I'm surprised that that trailer building has lasted as long as it has. I mean, you walk down the single hall of UCAS, and everyone within that half of the building knows you're around. Before we had a bunch of restless high schoolers, my understanding is that it was a grade school of sorts. A bunch of little kids who're still struggling to develop into the faculties of their bodies and minds.
How is it still standing, anyway?
I suppose that it'll last even longer, now that we've got the Activities Center/gym there. It's certainly a lot more convenient to outlet your energy into the limited selection of sports we have there during your free time, and much easier to maintain as a Commons area than that sardine-packed room in the trailer. I must admit, I miss that crazy lunch hour that we had. It was so much fun. Though, being a Senior, I miss most of the high school stuff anyway.
It sucks because I'm at UVU so often, when just hanging out like a normal teenager would be enough to keep me happy. There's not a lot of opportunity for that now, and from what most people's folks say it only gets worse from here. That's right, you fresh meat. Being a Senior has its privileges, but that's because we've got our fair share of duties too.
I'm not telling anyone to slack off and enjoy yourselves while you can. I like the results I've gotten so far, and chances are they're going to prove very helpful in my life. However, let it be known that I personally would like to spend a lot more time with my friends, the my circumstantial neighbors. I get tired of sitting here and staring at a computer all day simply because it's a convenient tool for productivity (when I'm focused) every Tuesday and Thursday, and then sitting at a desk all day either tuning out or writing down whatever it is the teacher has planned for the day. I know it'll be helpful in the long run, but there are still opportunities there that I want and can't get because I slacked off somewhere else.
I'm not entirely a victim, either. I've still yet to get my Driver's License - though I hope to finish the last requirement I have this week. All I've got is an EHS proctored final holding me down, after doing the entire course twice. I forgot about it the first runaround, and discovered that only three weeks ago. I feel pretty proud for redoing the entire thing in roughly a week.
Then there's the problem of having an Associate's now - what will I do with it? Will I continue to go to school? As a Junior in college, it's time to buckle down and declare a major. Presumably, something that will pay for whatever I have in mind for the future...but what?
UCAS isn't something for people with doubts about themselves, I suppose. Just a small sample of the material problems I'm having at the moment.
I'm also a philosopher of sorts. I delight in all sorts of mental exploration. Why? Because it's just plain useful. Understanding viewpoints, thoughts, and their bases are extremely useful in understanding the people that employ them. I love function. It's so interesting and challenging to engineer new things, or extrapolate old things into new insights. Some of my greatest satisfactions derive from building things that work.
So, naturally, I also am quite the tinkerer. I love to take things apart, especially if I have a hard time putting them back together correctly - it means I'm learning something new and potentially recurring elsewhere in life. And it's not just limited to mechanical or nerdy things - I love figuring out people too.
I firmly believe that people are, on some base level, the only thing that we have, failing all else. We invent so that we have convenience, so that we may progress. But those are all to the end, to the interests, of a person or people. This generation is around because of the people of the elder. Eventually, almost all of us will do the same for another set of young faces, a bunch of bright eyes and receptive minds that will borrow themselves directly from us physically and how we interact with others. I don't know what the purpose of this entire strange cycle is, but I do know that I want to be remembered in the endless rotations of birth and conclusion as someone who learned to love the bumps and tumbles of colliding lives that perpetuate that process.
Simply put, I love people. I love y'all to death. I wouldn't be anything without 'em, and for that I'm extremely grateful. That said, I'm a very reciprocative and loyal person. Just showing you're willing to take the time to talk to me is, metaphorically speaking, a scratch behind the ears. I love the small things that people do, though a lot of times people don't even realize that. Unfortunately, I also tend to assume that people will notice the things I try to do in return, which can cause quite a bit of confusion to anyone who's active in their relationship with me. There are very few people that my heart latches onto, but to those friends I tell you right now that I salute you. You've humored me in my methods of socializing and, despite the inevitable puzzle and unnecessary analysis on my part, kind of contradict natural interest when you call me my friend. That's an acceptance which is quite a bit kinder than the average reaction of struggling not plug your ears. For that, you perform above and beyond the call of duty. For that, you have my respect and, for whatever it's worth, you have this one's loyalty.
Wow. That went on quite a bit longer and farther than I expected. Don't worry, there'll be plenty of superficiality in later posts for your entertainment. Probably involving an electric rubber ducky, or some other such fail.
-Gubler
Labels: UCAS
