who is john galt
As I have officially finished planning each of my last RA requirements for the remainder of the semester, there is a sense that I am already done. With planning taken care of, honestly, little remains but wait for the day to arrive and become history. A precursory sense of finality is settling as we speak.
But the sidekick to finality is reflection, the contemplation and assessment of what has been and what further conclusions can be gleaned from preceding events. Though I am currently swamped with work, a haze of contemplation regarding my RA experiences cannot be blown away.
I am shocked, thoroughly shocked, at how ignorant and apathetic the majority of Virginia Tech students are. I will not give specifics, but it appalls me to consider how much money is fully wasted each semester as these kids attempt their best to learn nothing. Finding something to blame is pointless, as you’ll exert more effort in that exercise than in doing something about it. Thus, as of the middle of last semester, I resigned myself to just do whatever I can with the residents I have direct contact with - students that, hopefully, will take something away from our interaction.
I refuse to take part in the mindless programming offers that a plethora of campus organizations provide, instead demanding that I take the personal time to prepare an academic setting for residents who dare show up. In the past 6 months, I have made 7 Keynote presentations ranging in material from global warming to digital rights to recycling and back again. Anything ample enough to be provocative to the indescribably desensitized minds of collegiate youth. Despite my attemps, I feel that (well, know that) the odds were against me, and, sadly, that I have failed.
But failure is not implied, actually. Failure would be defined by my willingness to think little of my time and effort, reconsidering my passions as little more than throwing pearls at swine. While this RA experience has shown me that the next generation of adults will be spoiled, conceited, indifferent, and irresponsible, I must either ignore the existence of such foolishness or appeal to a higher civilization of intelligence and morality.
Never before have I felt so close to the torn spirits of Dagny Taggart - a hopelessness combatted by my own efforts to maintain that which I deeply know to be ultimately unsustainable.