Oh, the Belated Humor of it All!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." This quote from Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities could be used by Admissions Counselors to describe college. They tell you about the wonderful friends you'll make, the challenges your professors will give you, the maturity you'll gain as you fight through life's struggles. The mix of gravity, joy, and troubles you'll encounter - these every college student will hear about before he enters college.

But nobody tells you how funny college is.

Not how funny your friends or professors are; how funny living at college. Come on, whoever invented the idea of roommates must have been the world's biggest practical joker. I admit, most of the humor cannot be appreciated till after the fact; the hilarity of the ravings of someone late for class can only be recognized after class has been reached in time. But really, when viewed in retrospect, a lot of college isn't profound or earth-shattering. So much of it is just so funny.

Here is an example from my own life.

I have been fighting a bug which really wants to become a full-blown cold. But a great deal of energy and will-power on my part are neutralizing this bug's effect. Yesterday, I was feeling worse than I am now, so my energy levels were low to begin with. And of course, yesterday I had my only midterm for the whole week and I had an additional lecture in the evening.

So after suppressing a freak-out session over my midterm all morning, I run from Greek class (Classics professors have this idea that time has nothing to do with them. Thus, classes never end on time and I always have to run across campus to my next class), no small feat with my energy levels dipping lower and lower.

I get to my midterm, sit down at the table, and begin to write furiously (Once again, two 1 and 1/2 page essays in 50 minutes is not exactly ideal in conditions such as this). 3:55. "Oh Shoot!" I think, "I've got to get over to Lynch for that lecture, NOW!". So, I quickly hand in my exam, grab my bags, and book it to Lynch Auditorium where I slip into a seat up front (Unfortunately, the back seats are always the first to go when young people are involved).

The lecture is really good, but after an hour and a half, I'm feeling really tired. So I grab some cafeteria dinner to go - no meat, since it's a fast day - and sit in my room. I try laying down, but the god of sleep seems to be somewhere else.

Now, being the kind of person of I am, I decide to head back over to the second half of the lecture starting at 7. It is supposed to be one of the Marshalsea's professors responding to the earlier talk. What could go wrong.

Two hours of interminable questions, that's what.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm all for academic discussion. I find it invigorating and inspiring, provided that I'm not running on empty. I confess, the question of justice in the Iliad has never seemed belabored. By the time I was out of there, I thought my brains had been sucked out by a vacuum cleaner.

So, the conclusion of this rather long anecdote? College can be really belatedly funny. Though none of this felt funny at the time, it retrospect it just cracks me up. I was one of the few students who cared about coming to this lecture, yet I was the one who was too sick to fully enjoy it. 

I mean, what are the odds?