Firstly, Happy Spring! With this new season, I have decided to shed unnecessary pressure and set realistic goals instead. Because I am currently short on time and lack an organised approach to writing and editing, I have decided to do something that comes more easily to me and that doesn't require much effort. I think I'm going to call it my 'Snapshots from Life' series. I don't know if I am going to be consistent yet but I do like the idea of recording one of two incidences from my daily life that have made a mark on my memory.
Coming up to graduation now, I am almost nostalgic and want to record my favourite memories from College that I might otherwise forget. The first one that I can think of dates back to my first year of Law School. It was also my first semester and after receiving a somewhat disappointing grade on my essay, I made an appointment to see my lecturer to get feedback and tips on improvement. He was and actually still is one of my favourite academics by virtue of how approachable he is. We had been conditioned to lecturers that would drone on from behind their lecterns, their faces pale against the white screen projecting neatly typed and formatted notes. But not him. He of the jovial manner, would almost flounce into class (almost always late) and go about talking about Contractual cases as if they were bedtime stories complete with flow charts. He asked questions and answered the ones we asked with good humour peppered with personal anecdotes about his work experience, life, kids etc. All with not one Powerpoint presentation in sight. He convinced us that an academic - world class in his case- could be a genius and still be down-to-earth. A rare occurrence in Law school. Someone from that Contracts class actually started a Fanpage on Facebook and I'm sure we were all on it by the end of week 2.
At any rate, I don't know what I expected his office to look like, and honestly speaking I was still pretty hung up on my essay to think of little else, but I have yet to come across another such personal space. As I walked in, I noticed a suitcase that was practically exploding on the chair by the door. He waved in the direction of the suitcase that looked more like Marry Poppins carpet bag because of the sheer amount of things it was holding, telling me he'd just gotten back from a conference in Singapore. He'd been back for a fortnight now but the suitcase was still there. Waiting to be taken home and imploding with ties and teabags (?) in the mean while. There were bookshelves that were used for anything but. I think I remember a pair of trainers just casually chilling out on the Pine shelf. I noticed what would become my favourite piece of his office hysteria as I went to sit down - the carpet surrounding this learned gentleman's table was literally covered in coins. As if it were a wishing well. A coin for each time he'd ask the universe to ensure he wouldn't forget something perhaps. I went to pick a couple to put back on his table. He told me not to bother as he usually picked them up when he went out for a coffee and couldn't find coins anywhere. The logic in our age of wallets eludes me so I'm sticking to my wishing-well story instead.
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| I'll be honest, I just wanted an excuse to post a photo of Dylan Moran here. |
He ended up giving me some great feedback not just about my essay but also about how to deal with the pressure of Law School. Definitely one those lecturers that could define or change the attitude of his students not just towards a subject but life in general. My time slot was up before I knew it and just as I was closing the door behind me, I saw him blankly staring at his bookshelf almost expecting it to throw something at him as the coins on the carpet caught the fading rays of the setting sun and gleamed farewell. I couldn't help but smile as I closed the door on the absent minded professor.
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