Cosmpolitanism and the University of Kentucky
A passage from Cosmopolitanism that speaks to me as a UK student is probably the final sentence of chapter 6, Imaginary Strangers. Appiah says “…the great lesson of anthropology is that when the stranger is no longer imaginary, but real and present, sharing a human social life, you may like or dislike him, you may agree or disagree; but, if it is what you both want, you can make sense of each other in the end.” This is a great example of social interactions I have experienced at UK. There are so many “strangers” here at the university. So many strangers meeting, or perhaps not meeting, other strangers every day. My new best friend could be walking by me each day and I wouldn’t even know it because they are still a stranger to me. If we take the time and make an effort to talk to these imaginary strangers, they would no longer be imaginary. They would be real and among us. Being very very shy, first coming to UK I was intimidated by all the strangers. I did my best trying to meet many of these strangers and see if I could make new friends. I began approaching people that I did not know, and made conversation. At times I made friends, and at other times we were left as acquaintances. It was not always friendship at first sight, but in the end, most of the time, we can make sense of each other. We should all have an open minded approach to meeting strangers and try to learn about them and understand them as much as we can :)
Thanks for reading :)
Reecie Foxtrot ^_^
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1 comment:
I almost picked that same passage!! But I didn't feel like I had any experiences where I could talk about having a misunderstanding with someone, so I didn't write about it.
I agree with you that your best friend could be walking right beside you. I actually knew one of my friends in middle school and tried to talk to her, but we didn't really hit it off until high school, and I still talk to her now. (Much less since things are so busy here.) Congrats on coming out of your shyness!! I used to be shy too, but I think that coming here has provided us with many wonderful opportunities to make friends! I like how you say that the people you dont become "friends" with, are "aquaintances" and not "strangers" again after you've met them and decided you don't get along well.I have a tendency to talk to random people too. Do you think this is an effective way to make friends? Sometimes it kind of makes me feel a little awkward, like maybe I should have waited for them to approach me.How do you feel about this?
In the last post, I found it to be very funny when you wrote that the guy you talked to wanted a "companion," and very clever when you said that people could be finding "the love of their Second Life!"
Looking forward to seeing you alls' presentation on thursday! Good luck, and see you then! ^.-
~LandRe
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