Degrees of Difference

It’s official. I am a Bachelor of Philosophy. True, I completed my philosophy degree requirements over a month ago, but today is the first day my official student record actually shows that I have graduated. Funny enough, it only now seems somewhat official. Not that life changes or anything. I’m still working on my classics degree, so life seems normal. But it’s fun to know it’s really real (there’s always that minute chance that something went screwy and I wasn’t really eligible for graduation or something.) I think the full-blown realization that I’ve graduated won’t come until I have the tangible degree that I can hang on my wall. And/or when I walk at graduation in May. That might even feel more real than the diploma. Should I start introducing myself as Benny K, B.A.? I could at least sign my checks that way. Just like JELL-O®, there’s always room for boasting.

But looking back, things have changed quite a bit over the years. I got my associate degree in sociology from the community college. I knew then that I was interested in philosophy and religion, but I still planned on getting a sociology bachelor’s when I went to the U. Thank goodness that didn’t happen. My first class schedule at the U included three sociology classes and Greek. I wanted to take Greek for religious (i.e., Biblical) purposes, and I also thought it would come in handy for philosophy studies that, eventually, I would get involved in. Well it only took two days before I gathered up the courage to completely reconstruct my schedule. At the time, I was extremely paranoid that I would regret the decision. After all, I thought I might eventually do several undergraduate degrees (à la my father) and if one of them would eventually be sociology, why not do it right after doing a sociology associate’s degree? That made perfect sense. Luckily, sense wasn’t my priority.

It didn’t take long before I felt completely at peace with my decision to change over to the philosophy major. And, in large part because of the exceptional faculty, I eventually decided to pursue classics as well. The instructors really are to thank, and I know at least a couple of other people who, now that they have gotten involved with classics, have decided to change their majors. Now that tells you there’s something about it. I know a business major that changed over, an English major that decided to double, and just today I spoke to a Japanese major who is thinking of switching. Awesome.

When it comes down to it, there are only a couple of things I wish I had done differently. I wonder if I should have started with Latin, only because I think it might be more applicable to the studies I am very most interested in (early Christian history and theology, medieval and/or early modern philosophy, etc.). Plus I find it easier, but I think that’s in part because I’ve had Greek (not only because many grammatical ideas are similar but also because I’ve learned how to be a language student!). And even doing Greek first, I wish I had jumped into Latin after only one year of Greek instead of waiting until my third year of Greek. I thought waiting would be smart as I could then be more adept at Greek and Latin wouldn’t be so burdensome. Now I realize it probably would have improved my Greek to get involved with Latin earlier on. I feel like I must have slept through my first two years of Greek as it all seems like … well, like Greek to me! Oh well, what can I do now, right?

Before I end this entry, just let me say that I am working hard (and hardly working) on getting the “sidebar” looking all fancy. Well, at least getting some decent links added, just for fun. If you notice, on the right side of the blog there are now quite a few links. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, if you use Internet Explorer (as most of you probably do), the links shrink as they go. I have no idea why. If you use Netscape, everything appears hunky dory. I have written to blogger about this and am awaiting a response. Keep your eyes open for improvement. Also, for fun’s sake, I have been experimenting with … well, I don’t know what they’re called, but basically, if you hold your mouse over a link without clicking on it, some of them will pop up a description or a note about the link. For example, try holding your mouse over the first link (for 20 Questions). If done correctly, you should get the message, “Yes, I was thinking of a plunger!” You get the idea. Anyway, that’s just an FYI for the incredibly bored of us. Enjoy!