Blog Assignment #2

http://changethis.com/  Read Johathon Flaum’s FIND YOUR HOWL. That is what this blog is based off of.

The first part of FIND YOUR HOWL is a poem by Robert Frost which describes the journey of a Red Wolves re-released into the wild. He and his fellow wolves lost the ability to howl, all were scared and some wanted to go back to captivity. One named Mumon, however, was determined to find his howl and instinct told him to journey into the wild. In the wild consumed by hunger he chases a deer and kills it but feels bad in doing so, then an owl tells him to not feel bad as he is an animal and that is what he does. He then finds his power and becomes a true hunter again until he is shot by a farmer only to be born again through spirit of the other wolves finding their own howl. 

My favorite poem is from one of my favorite books  Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. The poem is called , "When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer":

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

This poem speaks to me because I myself have trouble being taught and would much rather learn on my own (as impossible as that maybe for me). I don't consider myself to be a non-conformist but I definitely feel out of place in lectures halls and large classrooms because my identify is lost in the sea of people. I thrived in high school because the classes were small which gave me ample opportunity to express myself as a funny and creative person. I won the superlative of class clown for being the constant enthusiastic person for learning and having fun. I enjoyed class when I was able to comment and make banter with the teacher over the subject, which is when I learned most. The trouble I find in college is what the poem illustrates. A rigid curriculum with a set objective for each day, where everything is organized and linear. And the majority of students, I wouldn't say enjoy this style, but have adapted to it over the years. I decided what I wanted to do from an early age, to be funny. And in the video production major I take they teach me formats to be funny but not to be funny in itself. I would much rather travel the country by myself and tell stories of my adventures with standup. All the money I am putting toward school would be used to sustain my wealth, and would help my avoid from going into the debt I'm most likely to obtain while staying in school. I would most likely not end up doing this because the practicality a higher education has for a future career. I still ignore the professor from time to time in order to write a joke instead of notes but if I could live the live walt whitman lived after his stint with a newspaper I would be truly happy even if I never achieved fame and wealth. Walt Whitman had the deepest love for all things in life. His poems usually talked about the connection all humans had with each other, and how we all had a connection to the world around us. I too have an immense appreciation for life and all its beauty and flaws. Whitman and I agree that education although necessary is not what it should be. Instead of catering to what works for the masses we should focus on what works for the individual. Which can be related to Johathon Flaum’s FIND YOUR HOWL. An ideal college in my opinion would be a school where you work under a professor who he did, or is doing, exactly what you want for a carrer. You learn from him, practice for him, and work under him. Some of the greatest minds have come from a great mind being their mentor a few examples are: Aristotle mentored Alexander the Great, Martin Scorsese mentored Oliver Stone, and Freddie Laker mentored Richard Branson.  My dream is to tour with Daniel Tosh, who I have modeled my stand-up style after, and learn from a man who has being doing stand up for a very long time. Overall this poem speak to me as a creative person because I would much rather experience the beauty of life and comedy without being told how to do so. Life is more than whats in the textbooks and I know the real world will bite me in the ass once my educational career is over.