Notes from an Exhausted English Student
Literature. Delving into the words of classic authors who used their voices to invoke change. It is so easily lost in current society now. The ability to write of selfless love instead of selfish love, to write passionately about political causes instead of party causes, an expression of deep devotion to God, instead of questioning the universe and its laws.....they all seem to be getting lost in the world of making one quick statement. These will be lost in cyberspace at the hands of social media one day. Everyone, while given a voice, a page to make their opinions known, are doing only that, expressing opinions. Great works that are culture changing are being dumped into small phrases on a computer screen, thrown out into the world for everyone to see, but soon forgotten because the next phrase, photo, or idea will take its place among thousands of others. It seems we are losing sight of important themes in favor of the smaller, less passionate but more personal agenda type messages. We have become selfish. We care less what others have to say, and more about what our very limited minds are thinking in a single moment.
I'm guilty of it. I love posting. I often think I've uncovered some deep, core thought that needs shared. And then, in an instant, someone else's deep, core thought is revealed and mine is lost. The funny thing is that this very post is going to reach you in this very same way.
My current course of study is English Literature. From Beowulf to Shakespeare, I've been consumed with reading and interpreting. I have read some things that leave me scratching my head and my only response is "huh?" I've also read pieces that make me want to stand up and applaud and scream "YES!" I have to admit, my mind is being challenged. It is worn out from trying to understand. This was so much easier so very many years ago when my mind was a sponge and not quite as spongy. :-)
It is exhausting, this study of literature. I have realized how very little time I spend with it now. It is so easily lost on computer screens. Are our kids getting to learn this stuff? Or are they just being swept away with media learning and unable to grasp what a classic piece of literature looks like? Oh that our children would be impressed to read. That they would learn to write. Not just one sentence at a time. Not with some underlying message directed at another. But with vigor and passion and the desire for something more!
Ah literature, you both exhaust and exhilarate me! The desire to write something real, and necessary, and beautiful is still so strong within me. Life-changing words. Words that will lift up, or exhort change, or reveal our Great Truth. That God will be able to reach one reader in the midst of this busy world of technology because He said to write it, and I did. That I will be able to remind you to read. Engage in the piece you are reading. Pick up a book. Own the literature while it is in your hands. Let it take you to a place, whether it be a historical recounting or a fictional future. Be impassioned toward greatness. Read. Write. Yes.
I'm guilty of it. I love posting. I often think I've uncovered some deep, core thought that needs shared. And then, in an instant, someone else's deep, core thought is revealed and mine is lost. The funny thing is that this very post is going to reach you in this very same way.
My current course of study is English Literature. From Beowulf to Shakespeare, I've been consumed with reading and interpreting. I have read some things that leave me scratching my head and my only response is "huh?" I've also read pieces that make me want to stand up and applaud and scream "YES!" I have to admit, my mind is being challenged. It is worn out from trying to understand. This was so much easier so very many years ago when my mind was a sponge and not quite as spongy. :-)
It is exhausting, this study of literature. I have realized how very little time I spend with it now. It is so easily lost on computer screens. Are our kids getting to learn this stuff? Or are they just being swept away with media learning and unable to grasp what a classic piece of literature looks like? Oh that our children would be impressed to read. That they would learn to write. Not just one sentence at a time. Not with some underlying message directed at another. But with vigor and passion and the desire for something more!
Ah literature, you both exhaust and exhilarate me! The desire to write something real, and necessary, and beautiful is still so strong within me. Life-changing words. Words that will lift up, or exhort change, or reveal our Great Truth. That God will be able to reach one reader in the midst of this busy world of technology because He said to write it, and I did. That I will be able to remind you to read. Engage in the piece you are reading. Pick up a book. Own the literature while it is in your hands. Let it take you to a place, whether it be a historical recounting or a fictional future. Be impassioned toward greatness. Read. Write. Yes.
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