Despite hundreds of hours spent watching nature documentaries, two years of spent at the training school working with dogs and living with a handful of lower level primates in my freshman dorm, I have yet to disprove that statement.While I assume Frank's fondest memories of the class are from the comedy of a mini-lecture on exactly why Ronald Reagan was the devil, that one comment on humanity is the big thing that has stuck with me to the cusp of my 30s.
Man is the only animal with the ability to deceive himself.
That was the big thought in my mind last week as I tried to wrap my head around the idea that I'd be heading back to school within the next year. More than that, I was looking forward to it and would prefer to spend more time in the classroom, versus the online classwork. Flash back to 1998 and you'd see me, in a bar or a crowded house party, loudly defending my assertion that I didn't need to be in that (expletive deleted) class because I didn't need to prove to some professor that I was smart enough to carry a conversation.
Rotate that perspective a few degrees and you'd see an out of control 20-year-old, deceiving himself.
It's amazing how easily we can all rationalize any decision we make, to put ourselves in a better light and make ourselves feel better even if we suspect we might be wrong.
So, that's where I am tonight - a little sad that many of the classes that will transfer are the ones I enjoyed the most and won't need to retake them. I'm a little surprised at just how far along the line I've moved and now see much more intrinsic value in classroom time and peer discussion.
Time spent in the classroom lacked value because I wasn't ready to make it a priority.
If things are already this different, I can only imagine how strange 2009 is going to be.
(Image from: WisconsinMentor.org)
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