e believe to be true is hearsay anyway, whether we hear it from another mouth or read it in a book. It doesn’t make our relationship to reality more grounded. We all walk on wobbly truths, just some people know how to dress up their stories better than others. Unfortunately I didn’t realize this right away.

When I first started going to community college I was a bit ashamed and rarely admitted to it. When asked wh

I have been attending a community college for almost four years now, when it’s only supposed to take two. I’ve seen people come and go, and then finish their Bachelor’s degree before I have had time to earn my Associates. The strange thing is that I remember my first semester being so easy, and now it’s just getting progressively more difficult…or I’m getting dumber. That seems the most likely scenario; I’ve just been exposed, like radiation, to too many ridiculous stories, and that is just what they are. At my school most people don’t contribute ideas to the classroom, but stories they’ve picked up from the street or from a friend. People just don’t like practicing critical thinking, and I’m afraid I’m a multiple offender. Over the past year I’ve caught myself trying to pass off these stories in social scenes to impress. Whoa! Do not ever repeat what you hear in a community college classroom to the outside, such “charisma” will not be appreciated in the real world—well, it will garnish some laughs, but probably not the kind of laughs you were hoping for. These stories usually begin with,—“Yo, I heard from somewhere..;” and end with something like,—“…that must be true;” to which they rarely contain anything in the middle that resembles something plausible.

I’m afraid these type of cute ancedotes are not passable in the land of academia. But then again I think most people are charlatans anyway, especially those who enjoy dinning at the royal court of intellectualism. We are all facades of how we wish the world to perceive us, and professors are no less guilty of passing along stories as is the most “ignorant” community college student (aka me). Most of what we believe to be true is hearsay anyway, whether we hear it from another mouth or read it in a book. It doesn’t make our relationship to reality more grounded. We all walk on wobbly truths, just some people know how to dress up their stories better than others. Unfortunately I didn’t realize this right away.

When I first started going to community college I was a bit ashamed and rarely admitted to it. When asked wh

xposed, like radiation, to too many ridiculous stories, and that is just what they are. At my school most people don’t contribute ideas to the classroom, but stories they’ve picked up from the street or from a friend. People just don’t like practicing critical thinking, and I’m afraid I’m a multiple offender. Over the past year I’ve caught myself trying to pass off these stories in social scenes to impress. Whoa! Do not ever repeat what you hear in a community college classroom to the outside, such “charisma” will not be appreciated in the real world—well, it will garnish some laughs, but probably not the kind of laughs you were hoping for. These stories usually begin with,—“Yo, I heard from somewhere..;” and end with something like,—“…that must be true;” to which they rarely contain anything in the middle that resembles something plausible.

I’m afraid these type of cute ancedotes are not passable in the land of academia. But then again I think most people are charlatans anyway, especially those who enjoy dinning at the royal court of intellectualism. We are all facades of how we wish the world to perceive us, and professors are no less guilty of passing along stories as is the most “ignorant” community college student (aka me). Most of what we believe to be true is hearsay anyway, whether we hear it from another mouth or read it in a book. It doesn’t make our relationship to reality more grounded. We all walk on wobbly truths, just some people know how to dress up their stories better than others. Unfortunately I didn’t realize this right away.

When I first started going to community college I was a bit ashamed and rarely admitted to it. When asked wh

ever repeat what you hear in a community college classroom to the outside, such “charisma” will not be appreciated in the real world—well, it will garnish some laughs, but probably not the kind of laughs you were hoping for. These stories usually begin with,—“Yo, I heard from somewhere..;” and end with something like,—“…that must be true;” to which they rarely contain anything in the middle that resembles something plausible.

I’m afraid these type of cute ancedotes are not passable in the land of academia. But then again I think most people are charlatans anyway, especially those who enjoy dinning at the royal court of intellectualism. We are all facades of how we wish the world to perceive us, and professors are no less guilty of passing along stories as is the most “ignorant” community college student (aka me). Most of what we believe to be true is hearsay anyway, whether we hear it from another mouth or read it in a book. It doesn’t make our relationship to reality more grounded. We all walk on wobbly truths, just some people know how to dress up their stories better than others. Unfortunately I didn’t realize this right away.

When I first started going to community college I was a bit ashamed and rarely admitted to it. When asked wh

usible.

I’m afraid these type of cute ancedotes are not passable in the land of academia. But then again I think most people are charlatans anyway, especially those who enjoy dinning at the royal court of intellectualism. We are all facades of how we wish the world to perceive us, and professors are no less guilty of passing along stories as is the most “ignorant” community college student (aka me). Most of what we believe to be true is hearsay anyway, whether we hear it from another mouth or read it in a book. It doesn’t make our relationship to reality more grounded. We all walk on wobbly truths, just some people know how to dress up their stories better than others. Unfortunately I didn’t realize this right away.

When I first started going to community college I was a bit ashamed and rarely admitted to it. When asked wh

e believe to be true is hearsay anyway, whether we hear it from another mouth or read it in a book. It doesn’t make our relationship to reality more grounded. We all walk on wobbly truths, just some people know how to dress up their stories better than others. Unfortunately I didn’t realize this right away.

When I first started going to community college I was a bit ashamed and rarely admitted to it. When asked where I went I would give a very vague, roundabout answer that probably had community college written all over it. To this day I still hate telling people where I go, but now for a different reason—I don’t like to brag. Where else can you go learn a little, pay nothing for your credits that will transfer anyway, and be entertained by the most asinine stories from both students and professors alike? Ahh, community college…ohh, how I love thee.

Below is a list of successful people, many from Hollywood, who attended community college, some more understandable than others:

Jim Lehrer – Victoria College, Dustin Hoffman – Santa Monica College, George Lucas – Modesto Junior College, Tom Hanks – Chabot College, Clint Eastwood – Los Angeles City College, Walt Disney – Metropolitan Junior College, Calvin Klein – Fashion Institute of Technology, Ross Perot – Texarkana Junior College, Billy Crystal – Nassau Community College, Gwendolyn Brooks - City College of Chicago