Sunday, September 25, 2005

Walt Whitman is my homie...

So for those of you who don't know where I've been this past week, I've been with my good friend Walt. TCNJ's nationally renowned Sequicentenial Walt Whitman Symposium was this past week/weekend. I've been looking forward to this ever since David started talking about it to our seminar class last semester. This weekend TCNJ played host to many of the most world renowned and brilliant minds in the field of Walt Whitman studies. I spent the weekend listening, talking to, and eating with such people as, Ken Price, Ed Folsom, Betsy Erkkila, Steven Collins, Fred Hirsch, Wai-Chee Dimock, David Lehman, and many many others including our own esteemed David Blake and Michael Robertson. I was able to attend or work early every event and still find it amazing that I was able to do so. I'm exhausted, physically, mentally, scholarly... I really just needed to not talk and play dumb for a while to 're-adjust' myself back to normal life. From attending the panel discussions, to co-leading a field trip to Walt's house in Camden, to having meals with scores of "Dr.'s", to being at David's house eating pizza and having a drink at the same table as Ed Folsom, actually contributing to the conversation!!! To be invited into the adult world of the scholarly elite filled with people who've published ump-teen books, written twice as many articles and papers, chair their English departments, and so much more... I'm subdued into awe. This last week I got a taste of what life could be like for the next 60 years, and I think I like it. So for right now again... I wanna teach English. I'll let you know if/when that changes again.

I love how He lets me know that He's in control of all aspects of my life. Even the thought about taking a step tooward geting into a relationship and He closes every possible door before I even have a chance to take a step towards it. It's like, wow, He really is involved daily in every aspect of my life. Not that I doubted it before, but to actually see it in action is a whole other thing. I don't have a choice in the matter, I still need to focus on being closer to Him, and rather than feeling constricting, it feels freeing. And only serves to re-enforce my belief that He knows and has planned everything that can and ever will happen in our lives... but that's just my personal belief. I like thinking that I don't have a free will and that's how I'm going to go on thinking... though always open to dialogue ;-)

So I've gotta take 2 classes and finish a photogram project tomorrow... yeah... about that....

And yes Prof. Carney, I will read Othello....

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Walt Whitman... wow. Nice. Its funny, right after reading this blog I thought a very good movie (a new favorite of mine) 'The Notebook' In the movie they make many references to Walt Whitman, including quoting some of the poetry. You'll have to see it sometime if you haven't already.