Blog
09.11
Cleaning out the Cobwebs
I had an elementary school teacher who at the beginning of each school year said in her crisp, clear British accent, “It’s time to clean all the cobwebs out of your mind,” meaning, summer has made your mind mush and now it’s time get with it and learn. I always think about this phrase when I feel like I’ve forgotten everything I’ve learned over the 12 + years of schooling I received.
Since I am not in school anymore, I consider one of my textbooks for adult life to be The New York Times. Ever since those daily current event quizzes in my college PR class, the NYT has been the home page of my browser and the first thing I read in the a.m. I’ve trusted it to get me through all major news events and love every feature – Marc Bittman’s recipes, living vicariously through The Frugal Traveler (best gig ever), Maureen Dowd’s feminism, Tom Friedman – among others. Its educational value is comparable to any textbook.
So, it came to no surprise that I read every single essay in the Times’ Education section which featured college students’ thoughts and ideas about their collegiate experience. Of course, I was proud to see essays from University of Texas students (my alma mater) and pictured myself walking through the city-like campus, dodging people and bikes on the street and weaving in and out of walkways where students played bongo drums, threw a Frisbee and listened to their iPod while reading in the grass.
Even though summer has a different definition to me now, it’s come and gone and I’m getting ready to clean the cobwebs out of my mind. Here’s my list of textbooks for the Fall semester so far. What’s on yours?
1. The New York Times (for day-to-day knowledge)
2. The Alchemist (for finding myself)
3. InStyle magazine (for keen fashion advice)
4. Same Kind of Different as Me (for finding others)
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