First day Jitters

Today was my first day of the new semester, and no matter how often I enter a new classroom with new faces... it never gets any less... 'new' feeling. Although that sounds like a dreadful way to describe the emotions the first day of each quarter evokes, I find it is also the most true. That whole anxious feeling; nervousness, happy, excited, scared, and all the while trying to keep a cool composure so no one realizes how awkward the first day of classes really are. No matter how many classes I'll enter over my lifetime I don't think that feeling will ever fade... nor do I want it to!

Its an odd set of feelings you get when you enter a room where you know no one, but it also allows for so much growth in you as a student. Not to mention at the end of each class their is that sort of triumphant feel- an overcoming of an unknown. Well, enough philosophy lets get down to the nitty gritty...

Today's most eventful class would have to be Microeconomics with Professor Ayiku.

When I first walked into this class and took my seat I looked around. Unsurprisingly I knew no one(its my first year after all), quietly I sat with my laptop open double checking to make sure I was in the right room, and that the class started at the right time. Then, 5 minutes later in walks a man smiling- the professor.

Setting his brief case down he turns to the class "What happened in the news?". One by one each student raises a hand shyly shooting off a topic and explaining its importance. I listen rather half-heartedly at first since I knew what went on in 'the news' and had made my own assumptions on its importance, that is until he commented on a concept I find hard not to argue on. He said that terrorist bombers trying to hurt innocent people was simply 'Evil'

and "stupid". WIthout hesitation my hand shot up.

"Their is nothing simple about the concept of 'evil' because evil is simply in the eyes of the media, and the reactant parties. 'Evil' to us Americans is not 'evil' to those doing the acts. I do not justify nor condone such heinous acts, but I realize that the doer did not believe they were in the wrong. The beauty of being human is the ability to justify and rationalize..." Oh how the comments did begin to fly. This is why I love Berkeley college because I feel that although relevance might be only slight such conversations can be held with other educated people giving educated answers. Believe it or not the professor even managed to reconnect the entire discussion back to economics. After all, such terrorists chose to attempt to commit suicide because they valued their extremist positions over their own lives.

Again, I am not saying they are not demented, but scarcity (a person only has one life) causes a person to make certain decisions.

Until tomorrow I leave you with this: No one thinks they are evil, everybody justifies themselves and their innocence. Evil is a perspective given by the media.

-Jessica Schwartz