magnification

culture. that's something that i've been thinking about lately. as terrible as this might sound, and as narcissistic as you might think me: my thoughts have completely excluded other's culture. i haven't even been thinking about my culture either! but rather, if i'm 'cultured'. i feel like because i'm in college (or at least because i'm in my twenties) i need to be some sort of coffee drinking, finger snapping, poetic type who has an opinion on everything. someone who is well versed in the arts, and politics. someone whose life goal is to merely flaunt my intellectual aptitude, and do so in a creative cynical way. i don't really see myself falling into this narrow stereotype that i have somehow created. unfortunately, i do see myself becoming more like my stereotype. my likes are changing. i no longer find (much) joy in cartoons...although i do devote some of my time to PBS cartoons, but i'd rather watch that then dr. phil, or smutty soap operas. i've discovered that i like documentaries. i like sheakspeare. i'm not a fan of forced humor. saturday night live and predictable comedies just don't do anything for me. i listen to Big Band rather then punk. the jazzy/big band stylings of Nellie McKay are music to my ear. visual arts like photography and theatre are becoming more amazing with each passing day. i find a thrill in hiking through a muddy woods to snap that perfect shot. i find my opinions to be stronger than ever before. i find my cynicism level increasing. i'm finally seeing that the world is not perfect, and there is something that i can do to change it. coffee is my friend. coffee houses are my friend. i don't ever see myself truly becoming that stereotype that i have created. i don't know that public forums, where we discuss the economic status of zimbabwe, will ever peak my interest. i don't think that i'll be getting into any political debates: whether global, national, or campus wide. i can't really snap my fingers, so i know i won't fit into the "Java" house poetry scene. and i'm kind of glad. i think i like the new way that my interests are going. i don't think that i'll ever be 'cultured' according to city folk standards...but as for rural ohio--i think i have most of my compatriots beat. and i think that is ok. i think i'm finding me. finding what i like, because i like it and not because that is what the general population has deemed as enjoyable. i'm ready to be an adult. i'm 21 and for the first time in my life, i think that i'm ready to act my age. immaturity is not something that i want to strive for anymore. i don't want people to remember me as "the stinkin' college student who is loud and obnoxious and has regard for respect". i want people to look at me and think: "there's something different about that one....i wonder what it is". i've had to take a closer look at myself to see who i am, i really hope that more people will take the time to do the same thing. i'm pretty sick of people making snap judgements on me because i maybe kind of remind them of someone they once knew. i want to be new to everyone. i want people to take time to meet me. i want to do the same thing with other people. i don't always do that. i clearly have stereotypes that i think someone should fall into, but i don't want to rely on that anymore. i think tomorrow i want to meet someone new. someone i have never ever met before. and talk to them. i want to take a closer look at that person i have judged, and see them for who they really are. i think that's how real friendships happen. well, i guess this is getting really long. not that anyone will read my tiny corner of cyber space, but in the off chance that someone decided to stick through to the end of this post: Hi, I'm Jamie...and I'm going to be taking a closer look. How are you?