So I've been meaning to update for quite a few days now, but I keep getting distracted by my homework. I know. That sounds so weird. Normally people get distracted from their homework by other stuff, but you haven't heard what my homework is yet.
Yeah that's right. Inception. And The Dark Knight. And Dan Brown's novels. All part of my English capstone class. We're studying Carl G. Jung, the Swiss psychologist. One of his big theories is that the entire human race has a collective subconscious that expresses itself through mythical archetypes and sacred narratives. Our dreams are one of the simplest ways to tap into that collective subconscious. I'll admit, it's all a bit hard for me to grasp just yet: psychology has never been my strong suit, so I'm definitely not doing Jung's theories justice, but that's what I've gotten so far. :)
Anyway, we're focusing on how Jung's psychology fits with Christopher Nolan's movies and Dan Brown's novels. It's absolutely fascinating, and possibly the best class I have ever taken at BYU.
And truthfully? I'm so blessed! I've discovered recently that I don't like the standard academic approaches to literary theory. Most literature classes, unless they're extremely specialized to a specific author, just aren't my cup of tea. When I signed up for my capstone class, there was nothing in the description about studying Nolan and Brown. I had resigned myself to just struggling through writing about yet another pile of literature that didn't engage me, but then I saw the booklist. It might sound silly, but it feels like an answer to my prayers about having a successful final term at BYU. I really didn't want to finish my college career with a class that I didn't enjoy, but you can't dodge around the capstone class. Making it about such interesting books (just so you know, even though Nolan is a director, we have the shooting scripts for his movies, so those are our "textbooks") is a beautifully elegant solution to my problem.
I couldn't ask for a better way to finish off. I was walking across campus today on an errand for work and as I looked around at the blooming trees, the green grass, and the scattered people wandering around, I thought back to my first term here. It was exactly four years ago right now. I started at BYU in Spring of 2007. I was so filled with excitement and enthusiasm for everything, especially my studies. I've come through a lot since then, but having such an awesome final class has reignited some of that studious fervor. Senioritis has worn off at last. :)
My entire college career has a nice rounded-off feeling to it. I've come full circle. I have worked, struggled, succeeded, fallen in love, gotten my heart broken, made friends, lost friends, found myself, and so much more. Now, I'm in my last two months of school, and I feel just as fresh and new as I did then. My future is just as bright and promising as it was back then. Though I'm groomed for my ideal career now, I still have just as much opportunity to shape myself into the person I want to be. And the best part? Thanks to the last four years, I have a much better idea of who I want to be.
I really am so excited. I've been working towards this moment for my entire life. Ever since I was old enough to know what college was, I've been vowing that I would graduate from college and have a degree. That was ages before I even knew what I wanted to graduate in. The discovery of my love for English and eventually my absolute obsession with editing was all part of the journey. Now one class--9 short weeks--sits between me and that goal. And then the rest of my life becomes the canvas for me to paint on.
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