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I'm sitting in Eastern's library after finishing my first class of the day. I've had classes in the past that bordered on the pointless, but this might have been a new one. He read the syllabus. He seemed like a neat guy; a Jamaican almost done with his Ph. D in Political Science. His accent gave his voice a playful lift that wouldn't be out of place on NPR or the BBC. In introducing the subject to the class, he made it clear that everyone's politcal opinions were valid and respected. One could tell that close to the surface he had opinions on the state of America that ran deep however.

So syllabus day continues. I used to like the first week of college. There are few responsibilities, and even fewer reasons to be in class. I'm here though, because this time around I'm paying for these classes. I would rather not have a whole class day devoted to reading 3 pages outloud. I just don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth.

One striking difference from the last time I was in school is the number of cell phones you see. When I was at MSU you would see a student with a cell phone a few times a day. Perhaps one in thirty carried a cell phone on campus. Not anymore. I would guess that around one in thirty didn't have a cell phone. It's standard issue these days, and instead of talking to the person next to you in the real world we talk to a little box in our hand. Why is it that we become more distant as we become more connected?

Up on the north side of campus is the park. It isn't really a park, just some woods and a big pond with a couple fountains. The water in the pond is a shade of blue that does not exist in nature, a cross between cobalt and jade. I was sitting by the pond reading my chapter for American Government when I realized that I had never really left school. In a way, I'm still sitting in daka talking to Prof. Barnett about the joy of learning and the basic greatness of intellectual curiosity. I should have never left WPI, but at the same time I would not trade the last 4 years for anything in the world. We come full circle in life more often than not, and everytime around we're supposed to learn something.