What I've Learned

     “What did you learn today?” Unfortunately, I have been asked this question almost everyday of my life since about age seven.  Each afternoon these were the first five words out of my mother’s excited mouth as I jumped in the car and drove away from school.  This was my cue to sigh, sling my heavy backpack in the seat behind me, and obligatorily reply, “nothing.”  This was our ritual.  Everyday she asked the identical question, and everyday I repetitively responded with the identical answer.  That is the funny thing about learning.  Oftentimes valuable learning is something that happens over an extended period of time, not simply in one afternoon of classes.  Although “What did you learn today?” is a valuable question, it has become almost unbearingly watered down.  So when the scope of the question is suddenly changed, forcing me to reflect on an entire semester of learning, I initially felt stumped, before realizing that reflecting on learning is sometimes just as valuable as the learning itself.  Thus, I present to you an essay reflecting my learning throughout this semester.

            Firstly, I learned that only 3.7 percent of criminals actually go to jail.  I learned this stunning fact in my Introduction to Criminal Justice class.  This is due to what is called the “Crime Funnel,” which essentially means that only fifty percent of crimes are reported, and only fourteen percent of reported crimes lead to arrest.  By the time these criminals are prosecuted and convicted, just under four percent actually remain in the criminal justice system long enough to make it to jail.  This fact simply stunned my naïve, sophomoric mind.  In part, this was due to my sheltered upbringing.  Having never been exposed first hand to a life of crime, I simply assumed the majority of criminals were caught and sent to an appropriate place in which to correct their wayward behavior (presumably jail or prison, however I regret to inform you that I still have not learned the difference between the two).  Secondly, my incredulousness was due to my assumption that crime shows accurately depict the goings on of police departments.  Apparently not all crime involves gruesome murders of passion, and not all police officers have access to horrifying databases containing every human’s fingerprint, mug shot, sperm (if applicable) and address.  Lastly, I blame my naïveté on TCU’s inability to use discretion when blasting crime emails to the entire student body.  Before coming to TCU, I was unaware that a brief slap on the thigh was worthy of a criminal investigation from the TCU Police Department, but I was regretfully misinformed.  I now know that when “a high school aged male slaps a student by running up from behind her and slapping her on the thigh and then running off laughing” is a serious matter, and must be reported immediately.  Having known this before last semester, I would have been much less horrified that real criminals are hardly ever reported or sent to jail.  Clearly, my experiences with petty TCU crime alerts involving thigh slaps are nowhere close to actual criminal statistics, making learning about those real criminal statistics that much more interesting and mindset changing.  This was the first of many things I learned this semester.

            Secondly, I have learned that twerking is never socially acceptable, but always socially appreciated.  By this, I simply mean that when one does outrageous acts in public, most people’s initial response is something along the lines of, “How inappropriate!”  Society does not deem these acts socially acceptable.  They are considered wrong, even trashy or unbecoming.  However, people love to gawk; they love to judge; and they love to gossip.  They appreciate someone who willingly becomes the subject of said gawking, judging, and gossiping.  I do not know why I just discovered this principle of human interaction this year, but it has only dawned on me during the recent Miley Cyrus publicity stunts.  As she twerked and thrusted and questionably danced on stage at the Video Music Awards, my roommates and I sat aghast at her performance.  No, we did not condone her behavior.  No, we did not think it appropriate.  No, we did not agree with the image she was projecting, but did that stop us from talking about it for weeks? Did that stop us from watching her infamous music videos on a daily basis in our living room? Did that stop us from googling “How to twerk” videos? The slightly pathetic answer to all of the above questions remains a resounding no.  So after having experienced this Miley Cyrus media explosion, I came to the conclusion that I presented previously, that twerking, or doing anything that walks the line between edgy and insane for that matter, is never socially acceptable, but always socially appreciated.  This is the second thing that I have learned throughout this past semester

            Lastly, I have learned that eating alone does not make you utterly strange.  I admit, there were times Freshmen year when my class schedule just didn’t match up with anyone else’s that I knew, or when my hunger cycles just didn’t correspond with my fifteen new best friends’ hunger cycles.  Not wanting to endure the painful embarrassment of sitting alone at the BLUU, I would opt just not to eat instead.  I would sit in my dorm doing homework, pretending that my stomach wasn’t screaming at me for sustenance.  Frankly, not eating was a terrible choice, especially considering ballet majors are required dance up to eight hours some days.  So there I was, skipping lunch or dinner and exhausting myself in the studio that night with no food in my system to energize me.  This year is different, however.  I’m now confident in my place at TCU, my friends, and my life.  I have realized that I never judge those who sit alone at the BLUU.  Rather, I assume that they are in a hurry, or have work to do, or just happen to have busy friends.  Sitting with that random girl from that random core class while you both shovel mystery meat silently into your mouths is honestly more awkward than just sitting by yourself.  By sophomore year, the pressure is off.  Eat all the mystery meat you want.  Listen to your iPod, or pretend like you’re texting someone extraordinarily important, or sit with your laptop open to facebook instead of those notes that you pretend you’re studying.  Therefore, not just being independent, but being confident in your independence is a critical step in maturing during college years, and in a small way, I think I have begun to make that change this semester.  If being comfortable eating in the BLUU alone is the first step in that process, then bring on the solo dinner dates.  I am ready. 

            Admittedly, criminal justice, twerking, and solo meals do not seem to have much to do with each other.  Frankly, they are sporadic nuggets of information that I concluded were interesting enough to include in this paper.  However, while attempting to summarize my thoughts on this knowledge in a final paragraph, I have found something interesting.  All these things I have learned this semester involve my mind maturing in a new and independent way.  I have critically looked at facts I learned in class, applied them to the world that I know, and adjusted my worldly perspective accordingly if the facts did not fit.  I have critically looked at my society and observed patterns and trends that seem interesting to me.  Lastly, I have critically looked at my own confidence in becoming more independent and have adjusted my behavior to become more like the self-confident woman I wish to be.  These three facts I have learned throughout this semester all center around changing my perspective regarding society or even myself.  I have opened my mind, seen aspects of the world around me, and enjoyed every minute of it.  The strange thing is, if my mother were to have asked me “What have you learned this semester?” recently, I do not think I could have come up with a response that remotely involved the contents of this paper.  However, being forced to write out an answer truly has inspired me to think more critically about what I learn on a daily basis and how that slowly changes my perspective on life.  Who knew this essay would end up with such profound meaning? Not I.