Public service announcement

[tarigwaemir]

Lowell House, on the Feast of St. Luke

Huh. Certain recent comments have made me start to wonder if one or more of the senpaitachi read/heard of that particular rant on my LJ.

All right, here's the deal. I will always be honest in writing about what I think and how I react to people, situations, etc. on my LJ. I will also keep most of my journal public (unless I write about someone and am expressly asked by the subject of the entry to delete it or keep it private). No friends-locking drama here; I write most of my entries prepared for the possibility that just about anyone can or will read them. On the other hand, I would like to know who is actually reading my LJ and how regularly, simply because I won't get paranoid moments where I'm not sure if people have been reading my blog or not.

Also, I do usually try to post about subjects that are interesting to the readership (since many of the people on my friends list are from high school or various fandoms). I'm sure you're all incredulous about that, considering my gargantuan posts on random books/thoughts/theories, but I really do try. So it's nice to know who's reading.

In short, if you're from kendo, and you stumble across this post, leave an anonymous comment! I only bother to check IP addresses for annoying people. Maybe then I'd feel less guilty about rambling on about practice so often. ^_^ And if no one comments, then I'll just continue feeling paranoid. Urgh.

Yours &c.

Post-script: Upon rereading this post, I decided I needed to clarify and generalize the situation: if you read this LJ and are not on my friends list, please leave an anonymous comment saying you are someone I know in RL who is reading my LJ (regularly or otherwise). However, you needn't divulge identity or anything else (and while I will be able to tell if you're connected to a Harvard computer or not by IP address, I won't be able to tell much more than that, and I won't bother to try looking it up to figure out who you are).

Post-post-script: But do tell me where you know me from, i.e. high school, classes, clubs, facebook, etc.

Comments

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

You shouldn't worry about people not understanding your posts, IMHO. Frequently I write posts that will only be understood by two or three people, because we aren't all watching/reading the same things. But I like reading such posts, because they alert me to new things.

[troisroyaumes]

Hm, it's not so much that I'm worried about people not understanding them (well, I mean, there will always be people who understand and people who don't) as being bored by them. A few of my RL friends have told me that they usually end up skimming through some of my posts. ^_^;;

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, I don't think you really need to worry. People can't be interested all of the time, unless you want to get more than one journal or employ filters.

[troisroyaumes]

Well, it's not something I really worry about rather than something that I have in the back of my mind while I post. It's just that I was wondering if someone connected to the kendo club has read my LJ or not. If they have, it would be a relief because there were certain comments made recently that has kept me paranoid (because it sounded like an oblique threat) but would be explained if the person(s) in question had heard of my LJ rant at senpaitachi. Er, yes. Sorry for the circuitous language.

Besides, it's nice to know who among the people you know in RL are actually reading your LJ. >_>;;

[tryogeru.livejournal.com]

Well, skimming only through the ones when you talk about things that go totally over my head. We are not all as smart as you...::pout::....::cry::....::goes to work on Kendo related things because that is all I do "for fun" nowadays::

O.o

[troisroyaumes]

Yeah, well, whoa, when did this entry become a comment on how people read my LJ? It's supposed to be an announcement for all readers to reveal themselves because I'm starting to wonder if someone associated with HRKC read my last post on the senpaitachi or not. I want to know for sure, darnit, because then I can stop being paranoid about certain comments made. >_> <_<

[fadedcliche.livejournal.com]

Isn't paranoia fun?

=\

p.s. after posting my drab little post, I realized that I could ask you about why I want to go to your school.

So... why do I want to go to your school? [i.e. can you think of anything - activities, classes, etc. - that you didn't know about until entering Harvard's halls?]

I'd be eternally grateful if you could answer my question. =)

p.p.s. I'm assuming laundry isn't at the top of your list. O.o

[troisroyaumes]

What is great about Harvard? Hm...all the famous people--lecturers, students, professors--you get to meet here. I don't mean simply celebrities, but literally the most well-known figures in each field. I've never been around so many intelligent people in my life. At Harvard, you learn for the first time that you are simply average, but you also learn how many amazingly talented people there are and how great they are to talk to. Classes can be stressful and even badly taught at times, but I've never had a class without a single redeeming lecture. Despite the pressure and the competition, I've had so many moments of genuine excitement at learning new ideas.

And of course, the extracurricular activities. In college, you're no longer capable of juggling several activities at once, so you learn to bury yourself in one or two. But those activities are more intense and more high-profile than ever. The International Review, which I comped last year even though I've pretty much dropped out now, is published around the world--if you go to the newstand and pick up the summer issue, you'll see one of my articles in there. The kendo club is the oldest in the nation and has connections and opportunities that most other clubs don't see. Basically, everything is on a near-professional scale. And I think what's most amazing about Harvard is that if you can dream it, they can fund it. Truly, the perks of going to a rich school. You can choose to wander through China for summer vacation and get paid for it. The service, job and internship opportunities are numerous--we hate to admit it, but it's true the Harvard name buys you a lot of attention.

And can I mention once again the fellow students? Harvard probably doesn't have much of a social life, I admit, and at least for me, a science nerd, the party scene belongs to a different universe entirely, but the long nights staying up talking about anything and everything are really priceless. MIT students probably study harder (which is truly mindboggling), and who knows if Yale, Princeton, [insert elite university here] students are smarter or not? But I've realized that people don't get in here for being smart necessarily. They get in here for being unique and talented and versatile and just simply extremely interesting people (like you! and probably unlike me...>_>). Many of my fellow Hunter '03-ers have said that they've felt disappointed with the intellectual level of their fellow students. They say they never have stimulating conversations anymore, that they no longer feel motivated to succeed because it's all so easy. I think that's what's different because I certainly have never had so many stimulating conversations in my life until I got to college.

Yes, there's the grade-grubbing aspect that never goes away, but suddenly you come to terms with the fact that you probably can't get straight As for all four years, and you have room to experiment with Core classes (have I told you that there are some really cool Core classes here?). You start to take things in perspective and to realize that there is more than one priority in life. (Unless you're premed.) Also, with the curriculum review, the university is considering focusing more on international experiences, which will definitely benefit you.

I can go on and on but I think I'm starting to sound like a college brochure, so I'll stop.