Everyone knows you're not supposed to do it. I don't care.
I just talked to my dear daughter Helga Golly on the phone from her dorm at Northeast Ohio (NEO) University, and what can I say, I am filled with the warm, nurturing energy of - spring semester registration. Credit hours earned, requirements fulfilled, progress toward the degree - all the things that give the illusion of "covering" the material, "completing" the curriculum, and "knowing" the discipline - things that have weight and substance in the Mind of Dad.
For the first time, Helga is registering as a senior, which means everything in the course catalog is open, no classes are closed, and she has first dibs at the courses she wants. Like Existentialism, Philosophy and Art in the Modern Era, Early Twentieth Century Art, Italian Renaissance Art, and French. I write down the course titles and repeat the words to myself, linking them with the Picasso course she has now, the late modern art and images of women in Rome classes she had last year, the connections linking everything to something else.
So in spite of horrible sinus congestion after seven hours in the metal studio breathing metal dust, riveting and filing her almost-finished metalworking project, she sounded positively buoyant! Almost as buoyant as her dad on the receiving end of the call.
She has an appointment this afternoon with her unofficial advisor, who is helping her add a second minor, for which she needs one more philosophy class - either American or German/critical. Good move, Hel, now while you still have time to make changes. And she wants to see if she can "throw in" a ceramics class. If it were me...but no, I won't go there, not out loud anyway.
I am as excited about her schedule as Helga is. I love the connections between her major and minor courses. I love the combination of history and theory and studio art. I love the way her curriculum just kind of evolved from photojournalism or photo-illustration into art history and women's studies and now philosophy. I love how glass and metal and ceramics balance out the reading and writing-intensive classes, and how she's going in-depth into things I have only passing familiarity with, and vice versa. This makes for great conversation during breaks.
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4 comments:
This is your left-brain speaking. You are totally correct in keeping close track of every credit hour, exam, and paper. Someday your grateful scholarly daughter will thank you for modeling such perspicacious conduct, while she toils away her prime of life correcting other people's grammar and punctuation just like the old man.
Right-brain here. Cool schedule, but way too much reading. Ceramics was a wise move, but Existentialism? gimma a break. Okay, so Sartre said hell is other people. Other people said Sartre, go to hell. Oh, squeeze eh moi, les otre hommes c'est enferneau. Whatever.
Grateful scholarly daughter's brain here. You worry too much. And I already correct other people's grammar, no surprise there.
P.S.-I'm writing a paper on Picasso's relationships with women and how they are communicated through his portraits. I can already hear your gears turning. Women's studies + art history = what exactly?
I do not worry too much. I’m just frequently reminded of my own contradictions, and what else would I write about, the weather? I’m perversely delighted that you correct other people's grammar, even when it’s me. By the way, the weather here is beautiful!
Picasso's relationships with women, etc. sounds like a great topic. I’ll be curious what evidence you find and what you do with it. At this point, I’m not losing any sleep over the question that most people ask, “What is she going to do with that degree?” Women's studies + art history = a dream curriculum, because the possibilities are endless and this is one time in your life (hopefully not the only time) when you can do what really energizes you, so why not? Then, when you graduate, I will join those other people in asking “Now what?” Meanwhile, I’m enjoying watching you from the sidelines.
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