I learned
many things this semester, and I credit most of them to this class. Sighing up
for this class I was definitely banking on getting by on last minute papers
written off of some of my favorite movies containing mythology. Being the loyal
Brad Pitt fan that I am, I was armed and ready with the Blu-Ray edition of Troy
and recently pirated movies such as Wrath of the Gods, and Percy Jacksons the
lightning thief. I mean honestly who would expect to learn anything from a
class teaching Mythologies stories featuring the beloved serial killing rapist
Zeus, or two best friends with the master plan of kidnapping Hades wife? To my
surprise Dr.Sexson didn't require me to BS my way through some ridiculous paper
chalk full of third grade facts about the Trojan War learned from Brad Pitt. Now
looking back on the semester I realize Dr.Sexson won, he taught me more than
any other class to date. Or more importantly he taught me things that actually
applied to life; he gave me a few secrets on how to live to the fullest. In my
defense though I technically didn't learn anything from Dr.Sexson...he just helped
me remember some stuff. I like to think of him as the arch nemesis of Google,
in the never ending battle of restoring this nations youths memories.
The main
thing I took away from this class is how unimportant I am, and I am so very
grateful for this. Society, coaches, my parents have always told me how special
it is to play football, how I have an opportunity to change the world. But this
is obviously not true, no one in their right mind really actually looks at an
average football player and goes…wow he truly made a difference in the world.
Throughout history we have observed those on a quest to be legendary, we can
all recite the immortal stories that will never die. But what I did not realize
until this class was that a legend is only a legend because of the story. No
one actually cares about the legendary person, we just want the legendary
story. Mythology has to do with community and family, it expands beyond the
“legendary” individual whether we like it or not. It’s the greatest illusion in
today’s world, the illusion of success. I’ve been lied to all my life about
what success is, success is throwing a game winning touchdown, success is
graduating with a great degree and high GPA. But no, success is not about any
of those things, it’s not about the sports car my grandmother will buy me for
retrieving her favorite sweater from Las Vegas. What you do with those
achievements is what matters.
True
success is looking outward from yourself and making a difference, no matter the
size in someone else’s life. Success is spending time with little bobcat fans
after practice and games. Or taking the time to read a book to a bunch of
kindergartners who only care about how cool the jersey your wearing is. Success
is realizing how unimportant you are and how important others are. So I guess
in the end my parents and coaches weren't technically lying to me about being
important, they were just being the successful people that they are. If
Dr.Sexson can make a classroom full of hormone blinded, inward-looking college
students realize how unimportant they are, and how important everyone else is I
think it is safe to say that Dr.Sexson is pretty darn successful and we can all
hope to one day have the success he has had.
