First day of class
The experiment is going well! And that's all I'll say about that for today. It's too early to post any specific results without a greater time sample.
Today was a good first day of classes. Although my Roman Culture class was a tad dull my Ancient Greek Language class was the bee’s knees; we translated a poem and I was the first to recognize it as the opening lines of the Odyssey. Hurray for nerdiness! Also for the first time, I was lucky enough to tour the surprisingly beautiful St. Michael's campus* (a religious college) on my meandering way to class. While there, I had, again for the first time in my life, the startling realization that as an atheist I was a minority there. Imagine it, a young white male getting a university education beeling marginalized by anything; genuinely shocking. I guess that faint malaise of feeling marginalized by a tolerant majority is why many young men become Republicans. Of course, I had nothing to fear or be wary of except being in unfamiliar waters and surrounded by a new firmament. However, this peculiar feeling quickly changed into humour when, in the middle of my lecture on Ancient Greek history (3 hours long!), my Charlie Brooker-esque professor made a comment about how from the time of the Ancient Greeks till today there hadn't been enough time for any substantial evolutionary changes in humans. About a minute later, two students got up and walked out of the lecture hall.
This is what many internet-goers might call an "educationfail."
* The University of Toronto is actually an amalgamation of smaller universities, each with their own individual yet adjacent campus. St. Michael's is the most religious college, housing both the theology departments and having many religiously affiliated faculty along with its own on-site chapel. St. Mike's is also known for having less money than the other colleges which is partly why I was surprised to see their well-tended gardens and extensive landscaping.