1. The Accent. - The Long Island accent, or rather the "Lawn-Guy-Land" Accent, is apparently real, and apparently I have one. I have been told that people don't understand what I say sometimes in class and outside of it. Sometimes people laugh at the way I pronounce words. It is somehow funny to some people the way we on Long Island say words like car, dog, talk, New Yorker, sauce, ball, coffee, and Long Island itself! We don't have an accent, you guys just don't have one and your jealous.
2. Your opinion doesn't always matter in class - A lot of the time, professors have their own agendas for how their class is going to go, and they will not always agree with you and what you have to say. Sometimes they will call you and your beliefs out in front of everybody. It is not like high school, where the teachers couldn't flat out disagree with you and rip you apart. It is a whole new beast, that I don't agree with.
3. Your life story also doesn't matter in class - Also a big thing that annoys me to no end is the constant person in class that raises their hand with a story that has little relevance to the topic, as to just talk about a personal story. Literally once in class we were having a discussion about sports, and this kid rose his hand and said, "My cousin's, dog-walker's, best friend's, sister-in-law's, nephew almost played for the Single A affiliate of the San Fransisco Giants". I was like, "THANK YOU VERY MUCH! MY LIFE IS NOW COMPLETE! THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION!" Am I the only person that thinks that that is the most annoying thing in the world.
4. If you Raise your Hand, Don't Take All Day - I can't tell you how many times I have been sitting in class, a good discussion is rolling along, and some idiot will raise their hand, and take twenty minutes to introduce their unnecessary thesis statement, or to reiterate the question slowly, and then take an hour to get through their speech, wherein they take long unneeded breaks in-between words and sentences, and sound like a first grader reading, during a Thanksgiving concert at their old elementary school. Like if you're going to raise your hand, have your thoughts ready to go, in a clear and concise manner. Write them down if you have to, if that's what it takes to get the job done.
5. Know What You're Talking About, and Speak with Passion - Also something that ties into the last one is if you're going to raise you're hand, have something relevant to the topic please. And also, don't try to reach for straws when you talk. Don't try to use false stats, or as I say "Facebook Comments Stats", that you just made up, to make yourself sound smarter than you are. Don't try to make yourself something you're not. If the topic you are talking about is something you care about, then it should not be a problem to talk about it with pride and with purpose. Be confident in the way you speak, and just deliver yourself. If you care about a topic, then speak with passion. Don't just sit in the back of the class like dead wood, and try to come up with some brilliant answer, without having some context. And also put some omph behind it, (That's an Italian thing, calm down.)
6. Your Professors Aren't Always Inclusive / Caring of your Ideas - In one of my classes, my professor taught us on the first day to question everything and to especially question authority, but how are we supposed to do that if you won't let us speak and think for ourselves, and let us have our own convictions. It's like you can believe whatever you want, as long as it doesn't interfere with my teaching. It is almost like the famous Henry Ford quote, "You can have a car in any color, as long as that color is Black."
7. Your Classmates Aren't Always Inclusive / Caring of your Ideas - Almost as bad as, maybe even worse sometimes then professors not caring, is when you're own classmates turn on you. There have been times in my Sociology class, that me and my friends have received literal death threats for saying the things that we say. We have discussions about politics, social issues, and religion, and I am still surprised to this day, that I have't been shanked or shot in that class yet. I have said to somebody in that class when I was fed up with all of the talking behind my back when I was talking "I let you have your shitty-ass opinion, now let me have mine." Shut that person right up right quick, I can tell you that. Like if you're going to talk about me or my beliefs, don't do it right in front of me. Wait for you guys to be alone in your dorm or something, or walking to class, or if you are going to talk about me, at least try to whisper. The 'problem' with me is I am 75% Sicilian, so I don't take the same amount of bullshit like some people might in those high pressure situations.
8. You Aren't As Important As You Think You Are - There are a lot of people throughout my classes that think that they are more important then they actually are. They walk around with their nose up, thinking that their shit don't smell, or if it does, it smells like roses. I hate these people. It's like calm down people, let's take a chill pill or two... or ten... or a hundred. You aren't that important, and news flash, the world revolves around the Sun, not you.
9. Friends Get You Through It - Something that definitely ties into my post that I made yesterday about the importance of friendship, is the ability that they have to get you through a rough class. They allow you to go out to dinner after the class and just vent all day and night long. They allow you to crack jokes about people, and share your feelings on the matter. They help you study for midterms and finals, and are always there for you in class too. I have this in my Sociology and Mass Media class big time, and I need it too!
10. People Suck! - The last one is as straight forward as it can get. People Suck! There are always going to be people you like, and there are certainly going to be people you don't like and / or hate. You will always have people who are my last point that I made, who think that they are Jesus Christ, or the Virgin Mary, reincarnate on the World, and need to be worshiped as such. That just comes with being in the world. But it doesn't make this fact any less true that some people suck, and some suck more than others.
Do you feel any of these too? Do you feel that I missed one?
Peace and Love,
DGS
Quotes of the Day: "A leader is a dealer in Hope" - Napoleon Bonaparte
"Of all Human activities, man's listening to God is the supreme act of his reasoning and will." - Pope Blessed Paul VI