The Subtle Joys of Honors
By Joe Smith
When I am still awake at four in the morning working on a ten page paper due in a couple hours, I wonder to myself why I put myself through this. After a little reflection, I always come to the conclusion that the pain is worth the other things associated with Honors. Here are a few things that I have noticed:
The building has brought me many joys. First, being able to do an essay in the Observatory at four in the morning is a great experience, whether alone or not. If I am alone in the building, it becomes like a haunted house, especially during the winter. The pipes start clacking, then the floor starts shaking, and I feel like am living through the film Poltergeist. More likely though there are already people in the Observatory. Often these people will hold a conversation while doing homework, telling the tales of their honors class and the intellectually stimulating topic on which they are working, or just how much they wish they were asleep.
The tangents that occur during class bring great joy to me. Many times a discussion will begin based off a reading, but then through the introduction of personal experiences and other outside information, the discussion will change to something completely different. This happens in every class; the difference with Honors is that the new topic is still relevant and used to continue the discussion and often encouraged.
Which brings me to my third subtle joy: the people of honors. Those who are truly involved in honors are interesting, hilarious people. Any Monday night during Honors Council, jokes are being thrown around like Frisbees. The Council is as much fun as throwing actual Frisbees on the Quad with other Honor students, since Honors students truly know how to have fun.
The next time you are working on an essay or even your thesis at four in the morning, remember all for which Honors stands: not just the never-ending readings or long essays, but everything else with it, and what you have become part of.