Abishai100
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- Sep 22, 2013
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I attended the prestigious Ivy League school Dartmouth College, where I earned an A.B. in Cognitive Science in June 2000.
However, when I was in high school, my parents wanted me to attend Harvard University, and I wanted to attend Yale University.
I got accepted to Dartmouth, but I was rejected by Harvard and Yale.
I was very happy with my education at Dartmouth, but I still daydreamed about how my life would have turned out differently had I got admission to Yale.
Yale is a very unusual school, an idyllic campus nestled in the otherwise standard American city of New Haven, Connecticut.
At Dartmouth, I gained an appreciation of the connections between religion and culture (studying psycho-sociology mostly), and I used that appreciation and education to understand the value of spiritually-oriented storytelling (e.g., It's a Wonderful Life, Moby Dick, The Time Machine, etc.).
I think about how my perspective on American mysticism would have turned out differently had I received my college education at Yale, which is why I wrote this short-story about 'metaphysics optimism' at that school.
We should better embrace the human links between education and social prestige (in America) to evaluate how the world comments on the quality of American intelligence in this new age of capitalism and profiteerism-gauged imagination (e.g., European Union, Wall Street, etc.).
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Stephen looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand. It was almost 5 a.m., and he had one more hour to study for his psychology exam for his Yale college course, "Rituals of Death." If Stephen earned a good grade, he could go home for Christmas in a great mood, but he feared that he had not put in the necessary background-work to feel adequately confident for the exam. When he got to the exam room, he noticed it was filled with at least 200 students, some he had never seen before (individuals who studied by themselves in their dorms and only showed up to take the exam).
Stephen was about to take his seat when he noticed a beautiful young blonde-woman sitting in the chair next to the one he was eyeing. He asked her if the seat was taken and when she told him it wasn't, he hopped into the seat. Stephen flew through the exam, charged with a newfound confidence found perhaps only by the invigorating charge of love-at-first-sight. After completing his answer to the last exam question, he turned to the beautiful blonde woman and told her he thought he aced the exam.
Stephen waited outside the exam hall for the blonde woman to come out. When she did, he ran up to her and asked her first how she thought she performed on the exam, and she replied she thought she did rather well. He then asked her why he'd never seen her before around campus, and she explained she studied mostly alone in her dorm on her laptop and simply studied vigorously for the exams. Stephen told her he was an A student, and the woman replied she was too.
Stephen asked her what her name was and she told him her name was Estelle. Stephen was head-over-heels in love and told Estelle that having aced this psychology exam, he was thrilled to go home for Christmas break and announce to his family he had earned an A in his first psychology course at Yale. Stephen also told Estelle he had the aspiration to one day become a psychology professor at Yale, and Estelle confided to Stephen that she aspired to be an English teacher at Yale someday.
Stephen went home that Christmas and told his family he had met the love of his life as well as earning an A in his first psychology course at Yale. His parents were very proud of his A grade, but they explained to him that they had arranged for Stephen to meet with the daughter of one of their friends, a prominent U.S. senator. The daughter's name was Mary, and Stephen's parents thought they would be a perfect match. Stephen vehemently explained he intended to court Estelle once he returned to campus after New Year's.
Stephen hurried back to campus for first day of class at Yale on January and started searching for Estelle. He couldn't find her anywhere. Finally, after much research into the student enrollment records and yearbooks, he was horrified to discover a photo of a woman who looked exactly like Estelle. Her name was Estelle Parsons, and she was an English student (at Yale) in 1979 (20 years before Stephen's freshman class year) but committed suicide when her father was accused of political scandals in Washington. Stephen realized he encountered the ghost of Estelle at the psychology exam hall in December of the previous year!
Stephen wrote in his diary:
"I must have encountered the ghost of Estelle Parsons (I will keep this 'revelation' a secret), since I was yearning for meaning and love in my life as a young and ambitious Yale college student. Estelle seemed like an interesting person, and her personal scandal-related tragedy touched a democratic chord in my heart. I wonder if I can build an ironic patriotic confidence with his strange invigorating experience to find the courage to love and honor this supposedly nice girl Mary my parents want me to marry!"
====
It's a Wonderful Life (Film)
However, when I was in high school, my parents wanted me to attend Harvard University, and I wanted to attend Yale University.
I got accepted to Dartmouth, but I was rejected by Harvard and Yale.
I was very happy with my education at Dartmouth, but I still daydreamed about how my life would have turned out differently had I got admission to Yale.
Yale is a very unusual school, an idyllic campus nestled in the otherwise standard American city of New Haven, Connecticut.
At Dartmouth, I gained an appreciation of the connections between religion and culture (studying psycho-sociology mostly), and I used that appreciation and education to understand the value of spiritually-oriented storytelling (e.g., It's a Wonderful Life, Moby Dick, The Time Machine, etc.).
I think about how my perspective on American mysticism would have turned out differently had I received my college education at Yale, which is why I wrote this short-story about 'metaphysics optimism' at that school.
We should better embrace the human links between education and social prestige (in America) to evaluate how the world comments on the quality of American intelligence in this new age of capitalism and profiteerism-gauged imagination (e.g., European Union, Wall Street, etc.).
====
Stephen looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand. It was almost 5 a.m., and he had one more hour to study for his psychology exam for his Yale college course, "Rituals of Death." If Stephen earned a good grade, he could go home for Christmas in a great mood, but he feared that he had not put in the necessary background-work to feel adequately confident for the exam. When he got to the exam room, he noticed it was filled with at least 200 students, some he had never seen before (individuals who studied by themselves in their dorms and only showed up to take the exam).
Stephen was about to take his seat when he noticed a beautiful young blonde-woman sitting in the chair next to the one he was eyeing. He asked her if the seat was taken and when she told him it wasn't, he hopped into the seat. Stephen flew through the exam, charged with a newfound confidence found perhaps only by the invigorating charge of love-at-first-sight. After completing his answer to the last exam question, he turned to the beautiful blonde woman and told her he thought he aced the exam.
Stephen waited outside the exam hall for the blonde woman to come out. When she did, he ran up to her and asked her first how she thought she performed on the exam, and she replied she thought she did rather well. He then asked her why he'd never seen her before around campus, and she explained she studied mostly alone in her dorm on her laptop and simply studied vigorously for the exams. Stephen told her he was an A student, and the woman replied she was too.
Stephen asked her what her name was and she told him her name was Estelle. Stephen was head-over-heels in love and told Estelle that having aced this psychology exam, he was thrilled to go home for Christmas break and announce to his family he had earned an A in his first psychology course at Yale. Stephen also told Estelle he had the aspiration to one day become a psychology professor at Yale, and Estelle confided to Stephen that she aspired to be an English teacher at Yale someday.
Stephen went home that Christmas and told his family he had met the love of his life as well as earning an A in his first psychology course at Yale. His parents were very proud of his A grade, but they explained to him that they had arranged for Stephen to meet with the daughter of one of their friends, a prominent U.S. senator. The daughter's name was Mary, and Stephen's parents thought they would be a perfect match. Stephen vehemently explained he intended to court Estelle once he returned to campus after New Year's.
Stephen hurried back to campus for first day of class at Yale on January and started searching for Estelle. He couldn't find her anywhere. Finally, after much research into the student enrollment records and yearbooks, he was horrified to discover a photo of a woman who looked exactly like Estelle. Her name was Estelle Parsons, and she was an English student (at Yale) in 1979 (20 years before Stephen's freshman class year) but committed suicide when her father was accused of political scandals in Washington. Stephen realized he encountered the ghost of Estelle at the psychology exam hall in December of the previous year!
Stephen wrote in his diary:
"I must have encountered the ghost of Estelle Parsons (I will keep this 'revelation' a secret), since I was yearning for meaning and love in my life as a young and ambitious Yale college student. Estelle seemed like an interesting person, and her personal scandal-related tragedy touched a democratic chord in my heart. I wonder if I can build an ironic patriotic confidence with his strange invigorating experience to find the courage to love and honor this supposedly nice girl Mary my parents want me to marry!"
====
It's a Wonderful Life (Film)
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