Back In The Swing of Things

If you didn't already know, I'm a college student heading into my final semester of college. I'm an English major, so this year I am taking a J-term class about Harlem Renaissance Literature. We had our first class period today, and I have to say, it was nice to get back in the swing of things. You see I've already taken all of the other English classes offered at my school, so I don't have any literature classes this final year of college. It's kind of depressing. I thrive on literature based classes, and not having that in my academic career this year makes it hard to stay motivated. So being in this class has been refreshing so far. Yes it sucks to have homework during winter break, but it is really amazing to be reading and discussing literature again. I could read literature on my own, but that's only have of the experience. Having a group of people to discuss it with is what really makes the difference. You get to hear so many different perspectives and takes on a work that way. Sometimes you hate what someone is saying about a work, but other times their train of thought can open up completely new ideas about a work that you otherwise wouldn't have considered. Here's hoping that this class goes well and that the joy of literature far exceeds the pain of homework.

New Year: 2013

New Years means a lot of things to a lot of people. For some, it's a time to look back on the past, and for others it's a time to look toward the future. For me, the great thing about New Years is the aspect of hope that comes with it.

When I was a kid, New Years was just a day where you tried to stay up and watch the ball drop. Now that I'm older though, I've tried to find some meaning in it. Yes, in many ways it can be a vacuous holiday. People make resolutions they won't keep, and use it as an excuse to wipe away the wrongs of the past year. Maybe that's not a horrible thing. At the root of these actions is hope. On New Years, people hope that they can avoid last year's mistakes and do even better in the year to come. I think this hope can fuel us. Sure most people probably don't meet the resolutions they set, but at least people are aiming to improve. That's what is great about the opportunity of a year to come.

Auld Lang Syne

Tonight I wasn't feeling very happy. Normally New Year's Eve is the last hurrah of the holiday season. It's a time when people can celebrate together. That didn't really happen much for me this year, and I was kind of feeling down about it. After a while I decided to try and do something about being depressed and I tried to look up the scene from Elf where Zooey Deschanel sings Auld Lang Syne on YouTube. I didn't find that, but what I found instead where covers of the song done by talented YouTube cover artists. Here are a few of my favorites!