Week One: Complete

Friday. The end of the school week and beginning of the weekend. For me, after a long day of school, I return home and spend my evening curled up in my nice, warm bed resting. This Friday, however, I had a different itinerary. 

The school day began with the usual morning lecture. Professor Kramnick continued explaining the ideologies within Plato's Republic. Plato establishes the characteristics that distinguishes the masses from leaders. The masses are typically sight-seers who only understand what is visible and assume things to be real based on their own beliefs and opinions. Leaders, however, acknowledge the essence of tangible and intangible objects and view the realms of knowledge and reality.

To elaborate more on these distinctions, Plato weaves a philosophical argumentation using the conceptions of philosophical idealism and empiricism. Leaders encapsulate philosophical idealism, which is the epistemological knowledge of how we understand things; in other words, one may have the ability to understand reality beyond facts, observations, and sensory experiences. The masses, however, are associated with empiricism, a theory of knowledge that emphasizes the role of evidence and sensory experience, as opposed to innate ideas and traditions.

During the discussion section, we examined Plato's famous Allegory of the Cave. By utilizing the metaphor of man being prisoner within a dark, secluded cave-which portrays his imprisonment within the conventional ethics of society-, Plato reveals the fallen and risen state of mankind, from when he makes his ascent from the cave, or ignorance, to the brightness of the outside world, or knowledge. In order to create true philosopher kings who will serve the community and educate the citizens about what is moral and just, they must return to the cave to bring wisdom to the other prisoners, as well as deflate their own desire for power.

Fortunately, class ended by 11:45 AM, and the afternoon was free for us to do whatever we pleased. I decided to enjoy a relaxing lunch with some of my classmates. At 2 PM, I ventured to Day Hall and had an informal meeting with Summer College director Jim Schechter.

The Edmund Ezra Day Hall

The purpose of the meeting was to see how I am doing in class and if I am enjoying my experience here so far; which I am so very much. Afterward, I returned to my dorm room to rest for a few hours.

While my afternoon was relaxing for the most part, my evening was very pleasant. My cohort, Mr. Chan-Law, and I went to local Ithaca mall to watch Monsters University, the prequel to the classic Pixar movie Monsters Inc.

We viewed the film at Regal Cinema within the Ithaca mall

The film's plot displayed the protagonist Mike Wazowski and his journey at the college in pursuit of becoming a scarer, a position of the highest honor for monsters. To see this comical and more exaggerated portrayal of college made me wish I was attending MU; of course I knew that was impossible. I really admired Mike's tremendous work ethic and determination to achieve his life goal; if you do not work hard, you will not succeed. To end the night, Mr. Chan-Law took us to a nearby ice cream parlor called Purity. 

Myself, Tomi, Tamilyn, Michelle, Jenna, and Rochelle at Purity

I cannot believe that one week has already passed since I arrived Ithaca! It feels as though I have been here for months. Even though the work load will increase, especially with exams and final essays starting to approach, and I may not get as much sleep as I would like, I know that all my hard work will be worth it in the end; like with Mike Wazowski. Two more weeks will definitely fly by before my realizing it.