Every night, I go to bed with stars over my head.
And no, I don't mean that I sleep outside. Even if I did, clouds would cover up the sky some nights. Instead, there are phosphorescent star stickers on the ceiling of my room. And I didn't put them there.
They've been there since the beginning of the school year. Shortly after I moved in (I don't think it was the first night), I was in bed and staring at the ceiling after turning off the lights, and I noticed the stickers. As silly as it sounds, I had to check with my RA to make sure that the stickers wouldn't get me fined at the end of the year when rooms are inspected after move out. He assured me that I wouldn't be, so I left them there.
So whenever I'm having a hard time falling asleep, I look at these stars. You can barely see them when the lights are on; they blend in nicely with the white-washed walls. But turn off the lights, and suddenly, you can't miss them.
While I don't want to assign any more profundity to this observation than actually exists, the idea of looking at the same object and seeing different qualities when you look at it from a different perspective does resonate with me. I think we should keep in mind that this statement applies equally to the world and, more specifically, people.
Don't mistake me for a relativist; as I explained in a previous post, I'm nothing of the sort. However, I will concede relativists this much: Their perspective does allow you to notice aspects of the world that you may not otherwise have seen. In particular, I'm thinking about the role of post-modernism in international relations theory, the topic of a class I'm taking now.
Post-modernists reveal how much of our experience is shaped by the words we use and the concepts that we take for granted. For example, in talking about the developed world versus the undeveloped (or underdeveloped) world, we don't consider the possibility that maybe the "undeveloped world" is happy with their way of life, and maybe we're trying to apply the West's values to incompatible situations. In the case of development, I think that's often not the case, but it's important for us to recognize the assumptions that underlie our ideas and to question them from time to time. So I appreciate that contribution of post-modernism. Unfortunately, post-modernists also spend most of their time in semantic arguments (i.e. "What really constitutes a 'dog'?") and don't offer much in the way of solutions to the world's problems, because they're too busy asking, "Is that even a problem?"
As for the stars in my room, they may qualify as a work of art (albeit a basic , mostly pre-constructed one), so relativism is quite appropriate. But I do wonder who put them there. It may even be someone I know; some friend of mine who's an alumnus now. But regardless, I appreciate their quiet aesthetic contribution, the added personality that they freely give to the room. And I think I will miss them next year, when I live exactly one floor below them. Perhaps I'll be able to rest comfortably in the knowledge that the stars will provide a small source of wonder to whomever lives in here next year, as they have provided to me.
In case you're curious, here's an overview of what'll be happening in my life for the next month or so: I have a test on Monday and a couple of projects to work on until the end of classes. Then it'll be time to cram for exams, followed by the lull between exams and commencement. I should be home during that time, so please let me know if you'll be in the area then. Finally, after commencement, I'll have less than a week home before I'm off to France, an experience I've been pining for my whole college career. Once the weather gets nicer here at Lehigh, I'd like to take some more pictures of campus, this time in the daylight, and if I do, I'll be sure to share those with you. In the meantime, best of luck in whatever's happening in your life now!
And no, I don't mean that I sleep outside. Even if I did, clouds would cover up the sky some nights. Instead, there are phosphorescent star stickers on the ceiling of my room. And I didn't put them there.
They've been there since the beginning of the school year. Shortly after I moved in (I don't think it was the first night), I was in bed and staring at the ceiling after turning off the lights, and I noticed the stickers. As silly as it sounds, I had to check with my RA to make sure that the stickers wouldn't get me fined at the end of the year when rooms are inspected after move out. He assured me that I wouldn't be, so I left them there.
So whenever I'm having a hard time falling asleep, I look at these stars. You can barely see them when the lights are on; they blend in nicely with the white-washed walls. But turn off the lights, and suddenly, you can't miss them.
While I don't want to assign any more profundity to this observation than actually exists, the idea of looking at the same object and seeing different qualities when you look at it from a different perspective does resonate with me. I think we should keep in mind that this statement applies equally to the world and, more specifically, people.
Don't mistake me for a relativist; as I explained in a previous post, I'm nothing of the sort. However, I will concede relativists this much: Their perspective does allow you to notice aspects of the world that you may not otherwise have seen. In particular, I'm thinking about the role of post-modernism in international relations theory, the topic of a class I'm taking now.
Post-modernists reveal how much of our experience is shaped by the words we use and the concepts that we take for granted. For example, in talking about the developed world versus the undeveloped (or underdeveloped) world, we don't consider the possibility that maybe the "undeveloped world" is happy with their way of life, and maybe we're trying to apply the West's values to incompatible situations. In the case of development, I think that's often not the case, but it's important for us to recognize the assumptions that underlie our ideas and to question them from time to time. So I appreciate that contribution of post-modernism. Unfortunately, post-modernists also spend most of their time in semantic arguments (i.e. "What really constitutes a 'dog'?") and don't offer much in the way of solutions to the world's problems, because they're too busy asking, "Is that even a problem?"
As for the stars in my room, they may qualify as a work of art (albeit a basic , mostly pre-constructed one), so relativism is quite appropriate. But I do wonder who put them there. It may even be someone I know; some friend of mine who's an alumnus now. But regardless, I appreciate their quiet aesthetic contribution, the added personality that they freely give to the room. And I think I will miss them next year, when I live exactly one floor below them. Perhaps I'll be able to rest comfortably in the knowledge that the stars will provide a small source of wonder to whomever lives in here next year, as they have provided to me.
In case you're curious, here's an overview of what'll be happening in my life for the next month or so: I have a test on Monday and a couple of projects to work on until the end of classes. Then it'll be time to cram for exams, followed by the lull between exams and commencement. I should be home during that time, so please let me know if you'll be in the area then. Finally, after commencement, I'll have less than a week home before I'm off to France, an experience I've been pining for my whole college career. Once the weather gets nicer here at Lehigh, I'd like to take some more pictures of campus, this time in the daylight, and if I do, I'll be sure to share those with you. In the meantime, best of luck in whatever's happening in your life now!
Powered by ScribeFire.
No comments:
Post a Comment