Classes
are over! A week from today, I’ll be done with my last final for the semester
and packing to head home for Christmas break. As far as schoolwork goes, things
have been very calm; for possibly the first time this semester, I’ve gone a day
without checking my to-do list, and nothing disastrous has happened. Of course,
there are always the little things, and in about a day or so I’ll have to start
preparing for finals, but right now I’m taking a sort of Sabbath, and it’s
going very nicely. Before the free time, though, there were a few events. I’ll
list them in order:
First,
on Wednesday, I and 11 other MIDN/cadets from the MIT unit (4 from each branch)
met with the Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter, for a very nice lunch. The
lunch ended up being delayed, and we couldn’t eat or sit down until he got
there, but when he did arrive we had a slightly nervous but enjoyable time (I
had the privilege of sitting next to him). He was accompanied by the very first
female fighter-pilot, who had just made general. We took pictures afterwards.
On
Friday evening I went to see a choral performance of Handel’s Messiah. They
sang the entire first section and selections from the other sections (you can’t
leave out the Hallelujah Chorus, after all). It was beautifully done, even it
if was about an hour longer than I’d expected. This was mainly due to the
introduction, which turned out to be extensive and conducted by my music
professor. It was an abridged version of what we’d spent several weeks on in
class, so it was a good review, even if I’d already heard all the punch lines.
It was
strange to enjoy overtly Christian music in the middle of Sanders Theater, but
even stranger was not knowing if those producing the music believed it or not. The
irony was highest at the very end of the peace, because it involves swelling
repetitions of “Amen,” which is the root in Hebrew (and Arabic) for truth or
belief. How many people believed what they were pronouncing as truth?
On
Sunday I went into Boston with Helen to watch the Nutcracker. The theater and the
effects were elaborate, and we felt very cultured, having dressed up to go to
the theater (the effect was lessened by multiple selfies and the fact that
ushers were passing out paper crowns). I’d forgotten how sweet the story is,
being about a child, and very much enjoyed the performance. The most confusing
part was the ethnic dances, which weren’t danced to ethnic music or by ethnic
dancers. For instance, one of the leads in the Chinese dance was from Paraguay,
and was paler and blonder than I was. It took the parasols to realize what was
going on. Still, we had fun.
The
rest of the weekend has been spent doing my own reading and studying. I started
the Count of Monte Cristo in German, and I’m actually making pretty quick
progress, although I was switching it out with other reading every other
section or so. I’ve been reading a lot of C.S. Lewis, Chesterton, and MacDonald
lately, which has given me a lot to think about. I also discovered a lake about
a fifteen-minute walk away from my dorm, so I spent an hour walking around it
through the park, which was refreshing.
I
realize my last couple of days must seem terribly dull when I write them down
here; the best part of them was spent in bed with tea and my laptop, reading or
thinking. But I’ve found them perhaps the most interesting part of the week. I’ll
list just one of the dozens of things that have been swirling around in my
head; maybe it’ll make sense, even if you don’t think it’s as interesting as I
do:
I’ve
been considering borders for a while now. I live in a generation that intensely
dislikes all limits, but limits aren’t just limitations; they’re delineations.
In Hebrew, the word “to define” literally means “to make fenced;” things exist because
they exist distinctly. This is part of the case for natural, intrinsic limits
(those of morality, logic, and etc). More difficult is the consideration of man-made
limits. Artificial limits or, as some critics call them, “constructions,” are
what they sound like. They’re artificial. They’re erected by cultures and
societies. There’s nothing intrinsically un-masculine about dressing in a pink
robe or taking up embroidery. There’s no inherent reason a female ballerina can’t
whirl her partner around in the air or a hideous orc can’t be the misunderstood
hero. And yet, I think artificial constructions are as necessary and as natural
as the cultures and societies they make up.
I’m
going to be honest; I just wrote half an essay on this topic and then erased
it; there’s no space, and your time is valuable. But this is just one of the
more minor thoughts passing through my mind right now; more has happened in my
head in the past few days than has in perhaps the last couple weeks combined. I
don’t know what I’ll end up doing with all these thoughts, but they keep life
interesting. I wish you all happy pondering and, until next time, a joyful
almost-holiday week!
Pictures:
It was a dark and drizzly night...
My lakeside adventure:
With the SECDEF. Thank you to whatever DoD personnel were responsible for this picture; you were very efficient.
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