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Thursday, November 16, 2006
For Times Long Gone
All my life I've been in exclusive groups: those who learned to read and write before going to school (if I add out of boredom and to bug adults here, it is even more exclusive), those in an intensive English class within a famous high-school (in secondary school), the Latin gurus in high-school (yeah, we got to skip a lot of classes, still get high marks, win awards and travel to foreign countries), the school writers group (two in my class, less than 10 known in the whole high-school), those who needed to hours to study what others studied in a few days, those who actually read books (I cannot explain how this one got exclusive over the years), those interested in religion history and who actually tried to learn Sanskrit once. Is there any wonder I am such an elitist bitch at times?
Funny, I only miss writing from all these...Starting novels and stories (not finishing them most of the times), producing essays occasionally, having others read everything and tell me their opinion. No, I did not take criticism lightly! Some time ago, as I was watching TV, I heard a specific sound: a bike going by at high speed. I had thoughts running through my head hurriedly for about 10 minutes, then I simply got up, went to my computer and started writing. A short story I was extremely proud of.
I remember a specific thought when I was done, making my heart sing with happiness: "It has come back to me! It's not all gone!" It has not happened again since.
So, here is to apparently dead things: "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt. Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit. Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos mercatores saepe commeant atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important, proximique sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt. Qua de causa Helvetii quoque reliquos Gallos virtute praecedunt, quod fere cotidianis proeliis cum Germanis contendunt, cum aut suis finibus eos prohibent aut ipsi in eorum finibus bellum gerunt. " Caesar, De Bello Gallico
I cannot see the connection between our peoples....Latin is connected to my people though. But yes, it is connected to YOUR culture! I stopped afte learning to draw the alphabet!
I admire your elitism from young age but I think, in Romania, as kids we were brainwashed by our parents to become the best and to participate in all kinds of school contests, to study hard and so on. In my opinion, the most important thing about being elitist is the period: after you graduate from high school up to the time you die. These are the times when you realize that you need and like to study a certain subject, to improve your skills, get satisfaction out of your activities and of course remuneration. I like the educational system from western countries where kids are not pushed so hard by their parents, so they can study what they like, for as much as they want and to be somehow responsible for their educational decisions. When they grow older they become responsible and work in order to improve themselves and to earn more money of course (I guess this is the main reason in the end).
With my parents it was a little different...untill I got to school: they had no choice but to teach me cause I could be a nag :P After I got to school, yeah, i was expected to get great grades, I guess, but my interests were chosen by me. Like latin, which was a surprise to everybody. In the 8th grade, I hated it because we had a kinda homosexual teacher who favored boys (hated him for that). Then I discovered I was good at it and wanted it so bad! Cause school contests meant visiting places...But I agree, children should have more freedom here in their education choices.
Ai, ai. I don't know how I managed to get so behind on reading your blog!
This post resonates so much with me. I was (am) also one of those elitist kids - reading, writing, speaking many different languages, traveling the world, learning many things just for the sake of new knowledge and a challenge.
Of course you know that I identify 100% with the whole "study in hours what others study in days" thing, too. Just wrote a huge post on this very subject...
I love the fact that you wrote a short story you like. Not just because it's somethign that you are proud of, but that you've dedicated yourself and produced a really nice work. This is sometimes the big challenge for the achievers and elitists - to do something only because we want to, not because we are being pushed in a contest, or to be part of a club, or because it is expected of us by parents, school, peers, society, etc.
Now I must catch up on the rest of all these things you've written!
Ali, again, I have to say it's nice to know there are others like you :)
As for the short story, you are right. Writing was always my thing, something I did because I liked it so much, not because I had to, although it brought me some high-school fame. I guess that is why I still miss it so much...
BTW, there was also another extremely short story that I wrote a while after the one I mentioned. I had completely forgotten about it and found it by mistake this Saturday.
Name: Alina Home: Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania About Me: "This is my church. This is where I heal my hurts". It's also where I feel free and my preferred means of expression. See my complete profile
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Sure, baby! SANSKRIT is the red hot ancient connexion between our peoples!