College vs. Highschool

College and high school are both technically educational institutions. However, they're completely opposite in nature. While classes in high school didn't truly seem difficult as far as curriculum went, they did seem time consuming at the time. In retrospect, it seems that I never really did any work in high school. There have been at this point, at least three nights in the last 2 weeks where I haven't slept. I can't really complain, because at least so far those nights were my fault on basis of procrastination. College, even more than high school, seems to be a learning experience through which all aspects of life are taught. Relationships in high school seemed important at the time, but there again in retrospect a lot of things in high school seemed somewhat childish and misinformed, as if they held an importance that didn't truly exist. So I suppose high school kind of seems like something that was no big deal now, the course work looked childish as well as those ridiculous social aspects that we all clung to so tightly. But at least this can be said, the fake importances that we placed onto everything in high school really has helped us prepare for the real importances of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

I think that as much as Georgia Tech is all about education, it is also about becoming who we are meant to be, through joining a fraternity and finding brothers or realizing that you're better off alone, we transform while we're here, even in the first month. We are thrust from the sheltered arms our parents where we have everything provided for us and prepared for us to college where while yes, it's not quite the harsh cruel world, we still basically fend for ourselves. It is our responsibility to get out of bed on time, to actually go to class, to eat like we're supposed to, and even go to the health center when we're sick. Most of these things don't really seem like a big deal, as a matter of fact they really should't be. It should be something that's easy to adjust to, true, but at the same time for kids becoming adults who have never had to truly do anything for themselves, it's a true learning experience.

High school and college have nothing in common really, of course when I'm out of college and into the real world I will have once again gained new perspective and will probably think otherwise. Meanwhile, it seems that here at Georgia Tech if you can master or at least tame your grades/schedule, everything else falls into place as long as you're not one of those kids who hangs out in their room their entire lives.

Dr. Whitson's English Class

-Moved from another blog-

My english lecture course will evolve mostly it seems around how technology or cybertronics have managed to change human lives or the definition of human. So the first question is what is human? According to the dictionary, humans are scientifically labeled as any entity belonging to the genus homo or especially Homo Sapiens. Though the class syllabus pertains greatly to transhumanism and therefore science, it doesn't seem that this definition is really one the class is wanting.

Being bodies that learn language
thereby becoming wordlings
humans are
the symbol-making, symbol-using, symbol-misusing animal
inventor of the negative
separated from our natural condition
by instruments of our own making
goaded by the spirit of hierarchy
acquiring foreknowledge of death
and rotten with perfection (qtd. in Coe 332-333).

-Kenneth Burke's "Definition of Human" in The Rhetoric of Religion

This definition is a little more encompassing. It mentions that humans are those who are naturally intelligent enough to use symbols but also still animals. The idea that humans are animals is one that seems to be forgotten often. This definition also mentions that humans are "goaded by the spirit of hierarchy." This is interpreted to mean that humans naturally fall into some form of governmental or social ladder. History backs up this fact; yet with this definition it seems that there is still something missing. If the class is centered around how biotechnology and cybertronics are changing the definition of human, then there must be some sort of definition that separates man from machine.

Getting Involved

Here at Georgia Tech there really is never a moment a student should find him or herself alone in their dorm room with nothing to do. There are hundreds of organizations centered around everything from religious and cultural background to sports and arts interest. Beyond the 400 or so there is the Greek system, a web of 33 fraternities and 9 sororities within which I have found myself a home. I pledged myself to Theta Chi fraternity, Alpha Nu chapter, and through which have played intramural football and will begin intramural bowling soon. I have attended parties, dinners, and have already found it a valuable asset to my education. Beyond the fraternity, I have come to be involved in homecoming committees, merely to be able to spread my social wings. I realize that the Greek community is not necessarily the majority and if I am to one day become a representative of this community I must know more of them then just my brothers at Theta Chi.
It is odd to think that when I first came to Georgia Tech now two months ago, I had not planned on joining a fraternity, definitely not this semester, but not even necessarily ever. However, I found myself running into some old friends I had not seen since Governor's Honors Program, and they showed me that the fraternal system isn't necessarily like that depicted in movies such as Animal House. Of course, convincing me was easier than convincing my mother, which I spent almost two weeks doing before she was ready to hear that I had already pledged. It was not necessarily an impulse action, it was something I did as soon as I did because I realized that no matter the cost or the time it took to convince my mother that it would be beneficial, it was something that I would do eventually, so why not sooner than later?
My time inside the fraternity has gained me knowledge about the history of both itself and my new school. There are hidden benefits, things that aren't necessarily discussed during rush week but that are found after spending hours upon hours within the house and with the brothers. While at Theta Chi, I've shared many new experiences, some good some bad but I realize that in life there is more than just how well one does in class, but how they got there. I think that experiences and the abilities gained from them are more useful on achieving goals than grades, that the confidence and ambition gained from knowing that you don't just represent yourself but a brotherhood of men you pledge yourself to is something that will enable me to pursue with more persistence and vigor my beliefs, hopes, and ideals than I would be able to otherwise. I would recommend the fraternal system to anyone.