Storytelling sometimes dips into exaggeration. There was a YouTube video on that mentioned college majors. My immediate thought was, “I had 10 majors.” Well, at least that is what I have said over the years. I don’t think that is true.

Here is a list:

• Philosophy
• Business Administration
• Economics
• Accounting
• Finance
• Art
• English
• Psychology

College was a long time ago. I am not certain about this list.

Absolutely, Philosophy and Business Administration are definitely on the list as I graduated with degrees in these areas. I know for a fact I was an art major for a semester because it was the only way I was permitted to take the 3-D Design class I wanted to take.

The others listed above I think I had declared at some point along the way, but I cannot be certain.

I went to college to be an accountant. I am certain that is because my sister had been an accounting major and it seemed like something I would like. I took Accounting 101 (or whatever it was called at my school). It was 8:00 in the morning class. It was the only class I had on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I rarely made the class.

I had heard the professor did a thorough review for the final on the final class period. I dragged myself to class that day. He collected a project that had been assigned. I went to the professor after class and stated I had missed the last class and would he provide me that assignment. He shared that we had had a few weeks to complete this. He then checked his attendance roster and announced I did not attend class very often. Awkward. He gave me the project and asked me to have it on his desk by 2:00 that afternoon.

When all was said and done, I earned one of the three As that semester. I was good at accounting. I was bored silly, however. I could not envision myself doing that for the rest of my life. Looking back, I think accounting would have actually been a very good profession for me.

I am rather certain I maneuvered through economics and finance as majors. It seems that psychology was something I considered for a minute or two as well. Even so, it wasn’t 10 majors unless I have forgotten some.

In order to graduate college, I had to take eight gym classes. We earned no credit for these, but they had to be taken. For some reason, we all wanted to take the “no sweat” classes. I bowled. It seems to me I may have done archery too. Anyhow, going into my senior spring semester, I needed one more gym in order to graduate. What did I take? Yoga!

I figured this was the perfect no sweat class. Of course, the very first class the instructor informed us that if we missed more than one class, she would not sign off that we had taken it. Uh oh . . .

Now as a grown man this all sounds quite silly, but I know at the time, actually going to these classes was not foremost on my mind . . . particularly with my schedule.

Jumping back to the summer before my freshman year, I signed up for a series of classes that remarkably created a schedule of no classes before noon. Unbelievable! As a matter of fact, I mastered scheduling as an undergraduate. In my four years I recall but three classes prior to lunch. The semester I took Accounting 101 (or whatever it was called) I had that class at 8:00. Yikes! Of course, it was the only class I had on Tuesday and Thursday that semester. Kewl! I recall the semester I took tennis that tennis was right before lunch. I have memories of rolling out of bed, grabbing whatever was close, throwing a hat on my head, and walking the 100 feet to the tennis courts. And then there was my senior spring semester.

Yes, going out of college I took a morning class. My schedule was such that I had classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Because of good scheduling, my Ethics class was done by 10:00 on Thursday morning. I then left campus. I know for some of the semester I drove to Cape May to work. For part of it though, I know I was catching all the Grateful Dead shows up and down the east coast. I lived out of the trunk of my new car. I often shuttled around Butterscotch, my orange tabby kitty. Anyhow, Mondays would come around and wherever I was, I needed to get back to campus for my 3:00 yoga class. At 21, my driving habits were much different than they are now. I recall weekly hauling ass up the Northeast Extension at *ahem* rapid speed to get to class. I was usually running late, but would dart into the class, lay down on the mat, do the stretch, and then focus on whatever she told us to. My heart always took a few minutes to settle down from the scampering I had done to get back for this silly no-credit sleep-fest.

This is my yoga story.

While conservative, I am a proponent of liberal arts education. As a product of such an education, I think it works. 🙂

Yet, in recent years, it has been ever more distressing to read what passes as college level. Many speak of the need of remedial programs during the freshman year. Yikes! Why are schools accepting students who cannot perform at the level they are being taught?

And then there are the courses that are offered. To that end I was most surprised to read about this interesting program.

The programs focus is having world renown magicians and art theorists visit the College and perform . . . The College plans to embrace this symposium by offering classes that correlate with this program. This includes performing magic taught by a studio arts class.

Muhlenberg College, the school offering this, is a small liberal arts school. At $38,240 annually (not including books), I wonder how many parents will revel in spending that kind of money for their children to learn how to palm a quarter or deal three-card Monte.

Color me unimpressed. I know I am now middle-aged and probably do not understand the children today, but really, is this what we want from a liberal arts education? Of course, this is nothing new.

As I end my schooling, I can look back on many memories. I can relish in the thought that I partook in some of the most foolish actiivties that a person can and I can frown that many of these activities were killing me. Now that these are behind me, I can look forward with grand anticipation that I will step into the “real world” and become another statistic in the meaningless world history that we struggle to comprehend. Yet, there are a few things (for me anyhow) that make it worthwhile. And it is these that keep me sane.

For the four years I attended Muhlenberg, I knew almost no one in my own class. I lived in an upper-classman dorm all four years. My friends were older. Then they were younger. The only students I can think of that were in my class were Liz and Martha, and once Craig graduated, I didn’t hang with them at all.

Graduation didn’t mean anything to me. Dana’s parents had just purchased the home in Maine. We went up there with Leslie and then to Boston. I don’t really remember much of this trip, but I suspect it was more interesting than sitting in a cap and gown listening to someone I didn’t know drone on.