There are all sorts of people on a college campus: people from diverse backgrounds with varying life experiences who express themselves in different way. I love all the characters I come across on a daily basis here at school. For example there is my incredibly unique friend, Alexander.
Alexander (who will never answer to the name Alex) is the most fascinating person I have ever met. I have never met anyone like him and I don't expect I ever will meet someone similar. He has this vigor for life and makes everyday a work of art whether it be visual, musical (his specialty), or a performance piece. It seems as though he sees everyday as a special occasion which requires dress clothes and perfect manners. Rare is the day you see him in a regular t-shirt or, heaven-forbid, tennis shoes in place of his regular dress shirts, vests, colored velvet pants, and dress shoes. He carries around a plastic penguin who wears a bow-tie. This penguin has been dubbed Washington and it seems like everyone on campus knows who Washington is even if they don't know Alexander! People greet Washington, ask how he's doing, and sometimes people babysit Washington for a weekend. Everyone acts like this interaction with a plastic penguin is normal because, I feel, Alexander unintentionally creates a space around him where it is safe to act outside of the box. This safe space is by-far Alexander's greatest work of art.
The reason I bring Alexander up is because today he played the harpsichord for me. My friend is a music major and a known, very talented composer. However, it wasn't until today that I heard him play it. He began by telling me all about the beautiful instrument and the different versions of it. Then, he excitedly had me sit in front of it and listen to the different sounds it made on its double keyboard by adjusting little levers. It is amazing how a simple shift in the position of strings can entirely change the sound of an instrument. Finally, he began to play. The sound that his fingers made was Alexander in musical form. The specialized sound of the harpsichord is Alexander. The classic and historical vibe of the notes yet the ability to be peppy, dark, and magical is Alexander. Hearing him play was almost surreal, I could see him as the music. I don't know how to explain it but it happened.
All of this combined with his immense passion for music makes me love him so much. I am incredibly thankful to have him in my life and also, that he is in the world, existing for those who need his inspiration.
I guess I started on the topic of characters on a college campus...
Another type of person that exists on college campuses is the kind that wants a reaction out of people. People like this surely do exist but I have a theoretical one in mind. Today on campus there was violent threat that four random people would be killed. I know this because the administration found graffiti in a bathroom that said it was going to happen today, January 18th. Of course, to be safe, all the people at the top of the power pyramid which is the university have been taking precautions by upping security, sending out emails, and allowing professors to cancel class. Well the day is almost over and, thankfully, nobody was killed. Since receiving information about the graffiti and threat some weeks ago, I've been convinced that it was all a hoax. My theory, since it was found in a social sciences building, is that it was written by a psychology professor or grad student who wanted to study the effects of fear and such. Yes, this is a horrible thing to do, but it would be an interesting way of conducting research. But it could also be a student who didn't want to go to class that day or someone who was disturbed and was really thinking about going through with it. I guess what I want to say is that there are people on college campuses who can do some dumb and illogical things. A person can be book-smart enough to get into college but lack some common sense. Of corse I say this with the type of person who would do this to get a reaction in mind.
Characters really make the world interesting. I'm glad we have some diversity in this world but just wish there weren't so many threats.
