I'm often asked, when people find out that I'm Canadian, why I didn't just go to a Canadian University. When people find out that UWO is in London, they ask me why I didn't just attend Huron instead of leaving for New Jersey.
Sometimes I give them the obvious answers. Daddy works at UMDNJ. I wanted to expand my horizons by attending a foreign University. Attending University in the United States puts me in a better position for law school. Rutgers made a better financial offer than U of T.
That's all bullshit, though. The real reason is because of something those of us who attended Oakridge without the ability to penetrate its ruling class can profess.
Yes, I was on Student Parliament. Kind of. Yes, I was involved. A bit, and for the first part of the year. And yes, I was a good student. Sort of. But the real reason that I left is because Oakridge and London-West are the same thing: a cesspool of indignant behaviour and irritating dramatics by a group of over-privileged brats who don't understand the rarity of a stable middle class environment.
Many of the people who stay in London for University, if they're not careful, fall into a trap where they never leave. They cling to their high school friends, in some cases their high school spouses, and drink to their heart's desire whenever they can. They graduate and settle into a life in service of a corporation or the municipal government in a low-ranked or middle-ranked position, establish families, and watch their children do the same thing.
That's my nightmare scenario. When you settle into London, you're trapped there. The world becomes an obscure place outside of your reach, and the greatest pleasures you'll find in life are aligned to Richmond Street.
So I didn't leave because I had to leave. I left because, despite everything London has to offer, it has nothing of substance to offer a budding intellectual. It is one of the largest one-horse towns that has ever existed.
And Rutgers offered more money than U of T as well.
27 September 2009
12 September 2009
Thoughts on 9/11 (NJ 17 / 87)
This is about a day late, but I was quite busy yesterday and I'm on my reading break right now. Assume it's Friday. Pardon if it's disorganized, but this is a blog after all.
It has been eight years since 9/11, and for the most part much of the discussion of the event's tragedy has dissipated. The news outlets I saw mainly discussed global progress in the "War on Terror" in the past eight years; whether in "Where is Usama ibn Laden?" segments, "Target Afghanistan" segments, etc.
This is, of course, a far cry from seven years ago when candlelight vigils were held in many places across the globe accompanied by relief concerts and gigantic skylights rising from the ashes of the World Trade Center. Now one has to be the King of Pop evoke a more annoying variation of the same reaction.
I think part of it is because, as a result of 9/11 being used to justify a variety of unpopular decisions by the Bush Administration, people subconsciously view it with a sort of disdain and stray away from most attempts to express sympathy. Indeed, I heard a number of people compare the deaths in 9/11 to the total deaths of all civilians and soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But perhaps this is a good thing? I personally believe that without significant public pressure, one is able to more efficiently meditate on what 9/11 means to him/her.
Personally, 9/11 will first and foremost be associated with gnats. Whenever someone mentions gnats, I think of 9/11. This is because, when I was watching coverage of the Twin Towers burning, I saw what looked like gnats flying off of windows.
Although I was in Grade 5, I wasn't a moron; and I knew that they couldn't possibly be gnats. When I looked closer, I saw small lines moving around. I was even more confused. It took a few minutes to realize that I was investigating the flailing limbs of people who chose to jump to their deaths rather than burn alive. That was my first real experience with death in its horrifyingly brutal variations.
I will also always associate 9/11 with a certain level of annoyance. After years of hearing people scream about 9/11 being an act of war, 9/11 being a lesson in the importance of national security, and 9/11 being used as a justification for murder- this is where those fun statistical comparisons to dead people in the Middle East and South Asia come in-, I think people have forgotten about the hopeful elements of that day.
I remember 9/11 very clearly. 9/11 was a day when New Yorkers, whether city personnel or untrained civilians, risked and in some cases gave their lives to save others. It was a day when partisanship took an appreciated vacation because of an unspoken agreement that divisions were pointless in the face of this tragedy. It was a day when, despite some isolated celebrations, people all over the world offered the United States solidarity and mourned the deaths of people most of them did not even know.
It was a day when people stood together in the face of calculated evil to assist and support each other for no other reason than they were human beings in need. I personally believe that to remember 9/11 is to have a sort of rejuvenation in one's hope in mankind; and is a completely different thing than both analyzing and exploiting 9/11. I try my best not to mix the three.
It has been eight years since 9/11, and for the most part much of the discussion of the event's tragedy has dissipated. The news outlets I saw mainly discussed global progress in the "War on Terror" in the past eight years; whether in "Where is Usama ibn Laden?" segments, "Target Afghanistan" segments, etc.
This is, of course, a far cry from seven years ago when candlelight vigils were held in many places across the globe accompanied by relief concerts and gigantic skylights rising from the ashes of the World Trade Center. Now one has to be the King of Pop evoke a more annoying variation of the same reaction.
I think part of it is because, as a result of 9/11 being used to justify a variety of unpopular decisions by the Bush Administration, people subconsciously view it with a sort of disdain and stray away from most attempts to express sympathy. Indeed, I heard a number of people compare the deaths in 9/11 to the total deaths of all civilians and soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But perhaps this is a good thing? I personally believe that without significant public pressure, one is able to more efficiently meditate on what 9/11 means to him/her.
Personally, 9/11 will first and foremost be associated with gnats. Whenever someone mentions gnats, I think of 9/11. This is because, when I was watching coverage of the Twin Towers burning, I saw what looked like gnats flying off of windows.
Although I was in Grade 5, I wasn't a moron; and I knew that they couldn't possibly be gnats. When I looked closer, I saw small lines moving around. I was even more confused. It took a few minutes to realize that I was investigating the flailing limbs of people who chose to jump to their deaths rather than burn alive. That was my first real experience with death in its horrifyingly brutal variations.
I will also always associate 9/11 with a certain level of annoyance. After years of hearing people scream about 9/11 being an act of war, 9/11 being a lesson in the importance of national security, and 9/11 being used as a justification for murder- this is where those fun statistical comparisons to dead people in the Middle East and South Asia come in-, I think people have forgotten about the hopeful elements of that day.
I remember 9/11 very clearly. 9/11 was a day when New Yorkers, whether city personnel or untrained civilians, risked and in some cases gave their lives to save others. It was a day when partisanship took an appreciated vacation because of an unspoken agreement that divisions were pointless in the face of this tragedy. It was a day when, despite some isolated celebrations, people all over the world offered the United States solidarity and mourned the deaths of people most of them did not even know.
It was a day when people stood together in the face of calculated evil to assist and support each other for no other reason than they were human beings in need. I personally believe that to remember 9/11 is to have a sort of rejuvenation in one's hope in mankind; and is a completely different thing than both analyzing and exploiting 9/11. I try my best not to mix the three.
08 September 2009
Crimes of the Mundane - NJ 13 / 87
Hey guys! It has been a busy two weeks what with school and textbooks and cleaning and everything, so I haven't been blogging. Most of it has been bland and uninteresting, but let's see if we can find anything interesting to talk about?
My life is pretty much similar to last year, what with people always saying "hi" to me and stuff because I'm cool like that and know everyone for some reason. I was too tired to go debating tonight, but I've gathered together my busy schedule and it looks like I'll have enough time for the always attractive Pharmacy-best-friend, my social activities in New Jersey and also to keep in touch with all my Canadian friends with their various code names. Good stuff.
Speaking of which, I feel really different than I did at the beginning of the summer. Thinking back, I really can't believe I let half the things that bothered me bother me. They were so stupid and trivial that if my friends really did care about them significantly, they wouldn't be worth my time. And the people who did weren't worth my time. So why did I care? Stupid Bilal. I hope the social anxiety didn't annoy people too much... Was that socially anxious? Was asking if it was socially anxious socially anxious? Whatever, I'm getting better gradually.
Also, May's party activities have apparently made me notorious in Afghanistan-marine friend's social circles. A girl who we had just met exclaimed "him!?" in reference to me when he started sharing stories, so I suppose the appeal is that I look too nerdy to be doing stuff like this. Or that I should know better. It's a good time either way.
The people who don't call me Canada now call me Bilowl, incidentally. Go Parliament friend's photo album made like- four months ago I think?
Anyway, nothing all too pressing. I'm going to declare my two majors, Arabic and Political Science, and talk to people about potentially exploring my three minors, English, Botany, and Ancient/Medieval Civilizations. I like learning, so I hope I get to take them all, but I might have to narrow it down. My Professors are all interesting people who mark difficultly, so I'll have to sacrifice a lot of people to Quetzcoatl to get a 4.0 this semester.
Also, if anyone from Canada is reading this, I'm knitting you guys Thanksgiving/Christmas presents. So prepare for that.
Nothing else at this time. I'm waiting for a lot of textbooks, so I hope that happens soon. Same with the camera, I'm going to New York City with Soti-Panda on Friday. Ciao for now!
My life is pretty much similar to last year, what with people always saying "hi" to me and stuff because I'm cool like that and know everyone for some reason. I was too tired to go debating tonight, but I've gathered together my busy schedule and it looks like I'll have enough time for the always attractive Pharmacy-best-friend, my social activities in New Jersey and also to keep in touch with all my Canadian friends with their various code names. Good stuff.
Speaking of which, I feel really different than I did at the beginning of the summer. Thinking back, I really can't believe I let half the things that bothered me bother me. They were so stupid and trivial that if my friends really did care about them significantly, they wouldn't be worth my time. And the people who did weren't worth my time. So why did I care? Stupid Bilal. I hope the social anxiety didn't annoy people too much... Was that socially anxious? Was asking if it was socially anxious socially anxious? Whatever, I'm getting better gradually.
Also, May's party activities have apparently made me notorious in Afghanistan-marine friend's social circles. A girl who we had just met exclaimed "him!?" in reference to me when he started sharing stories, so I suppose the appeal is that I look too nerdy to be doing stuff like this. Or that I should know better. It's a good time either way.
The people who don't call me Canada now call me Bilowl, incidentally. Go Parliament friend's photo album made like- four months ago I think?
Anyway, nothing all too pressing. I'm going to declare my two majors, Arabic and Political Science, and talk to people about potentially exploring my three minors, English, Botany, and Ancient/Medieval Civilizations. I like learning, so I hope I get to take them all, but I might have to narrow it down. My Professors are all interesting people who mark difficultly, so I'll have to sacrifice a lot of people to Quetzcoatl to get a 4.0 this semester.
Also, if anyone from Canada is reading this, I'm knitting you guys Thanksgiving/Christmas presents. So prepare for that.
Nothing else at this time. I'm waiting for a lot of textbooks, so I hope that happens soon. Same with the camera, I'm going to New York City with Soti-Panda on Friday. Ciao for now!
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