As I have stated in previous discussion board entries, originally, the University of Texas was not my first choice. In fact, it was more a back up. I knew it was a first rate university. The school spirit, the rigorous courses, and the amazing athletics (left) were all very appealing. These were all qualities that I searched for in a University. I even attended a UT football game, experiencing the rush you get from standing in a crowd full of excited fans singing "The Eyes of Texas" with their horns held high. However, being in top 10%, I was guaranteed a spot and unlike the many people who would kill to be at UT, I wanted more to go far away. But as fate had it, the funds to send me to a school costing $42,000 a year just weren’t there. Luckily, I was accepted into Plan II Honors and the appeal of UT was maximized. To be honest, I was not too keen on the idea of the honors programs. I had the mindset that Plan II was for Liberal Arts majors and would want nothing to do with me; after all, I was a Biology major. When I found out I had been accepted, I felt a sense of pride, excitement for the opportunity to be in such a prestigious category of people. And as for the Liberal Arts perspective I would gain, the “habit of mind formed which lasts through life, of which the attributes are, freedom, equitableness, calmness, moderation, and wisdom,” (309) I was ready for the experience…and the challenge.
Now that I am here, what will I gain? What am I searching for? Yearning for? The answer is yet to be discovered. However, within the past month, I have begun to find bits and pieces leading me to the answer.
I have found that motivation surrounds me, from the large lecture halls bursting with eager students to the fields of grass shaded by bellowing Oak trees to the stacks and stacks of books filling the many libraries on campus. Even the darkly lit, barren study lounge in Jester (picture on right) is still a motivating environment for me. The tower library is far more "study-friendly" however I find that basically anywhere I go (other than my dorm room) is excellent for studying. I try to imagine myself at a campus like UT San Antonio, where there is no unity of structure to be found and where a lack of campus feeling exists. Strolling through the six-pack, waking up ten minutes after my class began and entering into a state of panic, intensely copying lecture notes in a class of 500 students…all of these experiences have given me the feeling of being a true college student on an arduous path pursuing my dreams.
Despite the continuous reminder of the fact that there is more work to be done, I find campus to have a sense of serenity, peacefulness that allows one to step back and take in the majesty of the place. It fascinates me that so many great minds are concentrated here with the goal of cultivating the minds of those who pass through it.
I have found that the term “cultivating” has been commonly used throughout our discussion of the University. To cultivate is to try to acquire or develop. I find it interesting that the definition includes “try,” however, it falls perfectly inline with the way in which a University functions. By attending a University, there is no guarantee that one will emerge an enlightened individual ready to take on the real world. “Cultivation of the mind is surely worth seeking for its own sake” (310) and students must take on the challenge of immersing themselves in the knowledge the University possess. We also find the term painted on the ceiling of the library on the second floor of the tower. After discussing the idea that “cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy,” (301) we have a greater understanding of the importance of experience and intelligence that comes with age and various parts of life. Wiley also states that “True education is not scripted; it is the development and cultivation of a genius already within each and every one of us.” This is precisely why we attend a University; to use the available tools (teachers, courses, internships, etc…) to develop that genius to reach its full potential. Some will succeed tremendously in this task while others will fail miserably. The choice is left to the individual. We are the determiners of our future.
Flawn sums up all of the opinions of cultivation and the University in one statement: “…the central mission of any and all universities is the cultivation of the intellect” (307). Let us begin to cultivate.
In all honesty, I am nearly certain that no matter where I had chosen to attend school, I would have found it to be a pleasurable experience. However I am forever grateful that I chose the University of Texas. This final picture is John Cuenca with me on the drag as he attempts to get money for his "college fund." I saw him when he first got out there, so he hadn't received anything. Due to the multitude of bums that inhabit the drag, a new bum probably doesn't catch too many people's attention. I love the fact that I can walk down the drag and see a mime, a bum smoking a joint, a kid in my world literature class dressed up as a bum begging for money (John, that’s you!), and a world renown professor all in the same block. I love the sea of burnt orange that floods the stadium during home football games. I love risking my life on the way to my classes everyday, dodging both the buses and the bicyclist with the hopes of not being run over. I love the Tower, shooting into the sky, reminding all who look in its direction that “What starts here, changes the world.”Only in Austin...
