There’s a fellow student in the college who may seem aggressive and in your face, at first. Well, okay, he is that way… but he’s that way because he thrives on the sharing of ideas and reaching understandings through argumentation. He is always forthright, generous, and doesn’t take shit lying down. That is awesome, and we need more people who don’t settle for the status quo, who calls them like they are (or at least like they appear), and who are inquisitive enough to try to understand where others are coming from. Yay, him!
One thing, though… conversations with him are exhausting sometimes, and he can catch me off-guard. It’s probably exactly where he wants me, but it isn’t necessarily where I want to be. I fully believe that I shouldn’t want to be comfortable if I want to learn and push my understanding, but sometimes, there is something to be said about propriety and less belligerence… 😛
I think I know who you are talking about. Maybe because there could be several people like him, or maybe he is one of a kind. He has shaped my life trough a series of uncannily perfectly timed conversations about that is most important in a life, what makes a good person, what is talent, what are good instincts. He gave me confidence by saying to me “you have good instincts,” and I beleived him, then one day in Miller Hall I followed him around and saw how he loves to point to random people and say “you are doing a good job,” and the confused person would say “with what?” and he would say “I’m just saying you are doing a good job.” (He remarks to me that it is amazing that he hasn’t been punched out yet.) So does he really think I have good instincts, or am I part of his hobby of telling random people they are doi ng a good job? And as I try to answer, I feel myself falling back to earth, realizing that the only thing I can stand on is my own opinion of myself. And I guess that my opinion is that I have good instincts. Thanks, sir, I needed that.