Soapbox

…Or not to be

    Today Katie got a packet from O.U. with the student profiles of all the incoming freshmen in the Honors Tutorial program. They are a small and somewhat elite group, many of whom will be living in the Honors dorm, so I guess they want the kids to have a chance to get to know each other before they are living cheek-by-jowl.
    I flipped through some of the profiles to see what they had to say. Kids!

    It’s hard to tell from a one-page questionaire but some of them sound pretty cool. I was pleased to note how many put "The Beatles" in their list of favorite music, and noted an "X-Files" on one list of favorite TV shows! Several had put some version of "I don’t watch TV" on this line. I read this and  thought  either you’re lying or you have very strong parents!

   I particularly enjoyed seeing they answers to "Favorite Book" (and note to English teachers everywhere- not one of them answered "Bartlby the Scrivner"! Why in God’s name do you make children read this??) Some of them were:
    The Great Gatsby, Crime and Punishment   Oh please- these are the kind of answers you put down when your English teacher is looking over your shoulder, kid. What was your real favorite book?
    Catcher in the Rye  Ah, members of the Catcher cult, are you? This somewhat interesting book is one teachers love to have you read so they can seem like a cool, hip teacher, and kids like to list to seem "edgy".
    Lots of kids went for  Harry Potter (clearly those people hoping to ban these books as promoting witchcraft still have a lot of work to do) and also Catch 22, which is a good book but I didn’t read til I was like 40, because in high school I was too busy reading Bartlby the Scrivner- thanks Mrs. Fuller!
   The Poisonwood Bible  Awesome book. Katie should room with this kid.
   The Perks of Being a Wallflower  Several listed this one, which totally sounds like something I should have read in high school.
   (Katie, by the way, listed Flowers for Algernon (shout out to my old pal Hillary Keyes!) and As I Lay Dieing.)

   Another question was "The person I admire most" Lots of "my friend so-and-so’s" for this but a few interesting choices.
    Commander Spock  You… do realize he’s not a real person, right?
    Vladimir Ashkenazy  I actually had to look this one up. Good work!
    Bono and the Apostle Paul  Now this is a totally awesome name for a rock band! But I wonder if this girl knows what a woman-hater Paul was.
    One person answered Robert Kennedy, Ghandi and Audrey Hepburn. An interesting melange.
    Favorite musical group I could have pretty much skipped since I have never heard of many of their answers, although as I mentioned there was a smattering of "Beatles" and "Dave Matthews" and "Pink FLoyd".

   There were enough soccer responses to "Favorite sport to do" that I was forced to relive my mother-guilt for not getting Katie into soccer. (Note to next life- force the children to play soccer!) The Ghandi/Hepburn girl said cheerleading, which I"m just close-minded enough to think is not really a sport, even though I certainly would agree that gynmastics is a sport. I’m not sure why I have this prejudice-maybe it’s all the hand-clapping. Or maybe it’s because they don’t choose you for the gymnastics team based largely on how cute and popular you are.

   The last question asked "In 10 years I hope to be…" My darling daughter answered "Not living in Columbus". Ouch!   Several gave some version of changing the world. I sure hope someone does! Many simply said  happy which is a pretty good answer if you ask me. Because really, the rest comes out in the wash.
   Most listed a career goal within their chosen field of study- good luck with that! The best laid plans, as they say… (hey, come to think of it- no one listed "Of Mice and Men"  as a favorite book. Too bad)
   I loved the English major who said to own a home and have a good-paying career . Dude- you’re an English major!! You may want to re-think a few things!
   One replied Celebrating the 10th anniversary of filling out this wonderful form. Ah, sarcasm! Well done, Grasshopper! Another replied completely disconnected from society. Okay…. it’s good to have a goal, I guess.
   Still Living life to the fullest!  made me laugh myself silly. Holy cow sweetheart! At the advanced age of 28 you want to still live life to the fullest! Most of us pretty much pack it in and head for the rocking chair by 25, but not you!  Well God bless you and the titanium hip you’re going to need by age 29 if you don’t slow down! (Never talk about feeling old around a woman about to celebrate her 50th birthday!)

   And hands down, my all-time favorite answer: In 10 years I hope to be… or not to be. But perferably, "be".  A smart-ass! I totally forgive this girl for chosing Wuthering Heights as her favorite book.

    All in all it sounds like an interesting bunch.  Perhaps Katie will find a new best friend among them.