The Weird and Wonderful in the Midst of the Mundane

Last updated on: March 24, 2015 at 4:04 pm by Joseph Susanka

The Weird and Wonderful in the Midst of the Mundane 2015-03-24T16:04:36-06:00 Joseph Susanka

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I’ve been involved with institutions of higher education for most of my adult life. (Actually, higher education has been a near-constant presence in my life, adult and no. Which might explain a lot. Keep moving.)

As someone who has been thus involved, my weeks/months/years are almost entirely governed by the peculiar rhythms of academia — rhythms found (perhaps blessedly) nowhere else. And as late August gives way to September, the rhythm of this moment is probably best described as “Slammed By The Start of the School-Year. Again. And Why Does This Surprise You? Again? It Happens Every Year!”

Thankfully, I found relief here. For reasons that may or may not have anything to do with the events of the past few weeks.

So weird. And so wonderful.

I never tire of recommending Sir David Attenborough’s work, and I’ll take this opportunity to (yet again) glowingly mention “Blue Planet,” which brings with it my highest possible recommendation. Yet my great fondness for Attenborough’s contributions is a fondness built not so much on his technical and scientific accomplishments (though those are doubtless impressive) as it is upon the excitement and wonder that permeates every little thing that he does. Attenborough is so much fun to watch because he’s having so much fun himself. And that fun is contagious.

Actually, that’s true here in the academic world, as well. The repetition can be a bit dampening when viewed from the 30,000-foot-level — funny how such a crazy-busy time can be rendered so mundane by virtue of its predictability — but the students who arrive each fall are not repeating anything or anyone; they’re their own wonderful (and sometimes, yes, weird) people with their own wonderful (and sometimes, yes, weird) ideas. And the excitement and enthusiasm (and fun) they bring when they arrive are contagious. Best Mundane-Busters imaginable, really. (Except for my own kids, of course.)

A Brief Aside: Remember the part where I said academia has its own rhythms? Well, I wrote this post a year ago. And then forgot to post it until it was a bit too stale even for me to pull the trigger. But I knew the Academic Carnival would bring it back ’round to relevancy once again.

Attribution(s): “Lophorina superba” by Richard Bowdler Sharpe (Site) is licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

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