Great Expectations by Charles Dickens My rating: 5 of 5 stars After long procrastination, I finally invested some time in a Dickens novel. I had a bad experience with one in the past, and since then I have been scared of trying anymore. I am so glad I gave Dickens another shot. Great Expectations is a book about learning to live happily in the present by giving your time, energy, and resources to the things that matter the most. Young Pip is the remarkably complicated protagonist in the diverse cast of characters who are connected throughout the book. He has a vision of being a gentlemen, and aspires to greatness - not unlike like many a young man I know. Pip's realization of what really matters in life is a beautiful illustration of one young man's slow ascent out of self-deception. The book had a quicker pace than I was anticipating, and it was just really really enjoyable! I think a large part of that was that I enjoyed the audio recording on LibriVox (call it cheating or being smart). The ironies were delicious and haunting, and the characters were so identifiable and clear in my mind. If all Dickens books are this great, then I think I may have just found one of my favorite authors. View all my reviews
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I arrived in Provo this summer and immediately got some questions from friends and family. "How is your business doing?" "How do you say it again? Humanis? Hamaaan - us? Humane-is?" It seemed like people were curious about my new business, and I was too. Things didn't work out the way I thought they would, and I shelved the idea of a full-fledged enterprise and decided to dedicate all my time to school and freelance projects as they came. I got other questions like how was your teaching experience? Are you still interested in teaching? And the truth is, yes I care very much about education. But no, I will never be teaching kids under the age of 10 again. I learned a ton, but what I learned most was that it was not the right place for me to be. "How is your project going, the one with all the movie clips and teaching?" This question I've only heard maybe once or twice since I've come back to Utah. Some of my older projects had lots of potential (and still do) but for one reason or another I didn't push through with them.
So, as I think through past passion-flares of mine ranging from G Williams Photo to Humanus to The Relevant Classroom it can be easy to see them as a line of failures or road blocks. But a different perspective is seeing them as stepping stones to new opportunities and life experiences. As this busy semester continues to demand more out of me, I feel more grateful for my past experiences that have each prepared me in a unique way to handle what lies on the horizon. |
AuthorI am a graduate student in Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University. I enjoy writing, hiking, and spending time with my family. Archives
June 2015
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