The other day, various people whom I have known for two weeks found out that I go to Harvard. I generally say that I study in Boston when asked where I come from, but Thomas asked whether I went to Boston University, so I had to tell him where I went to school. I then had to show him my ID, and take various steps to assure the assembled that I was not joking.
Thomas wanted to know whether Harvard was all it's cracked up to be. I told him it was. I do miss it, rather.
I was then asked me why I hadn't previously mentioned that I go to Harvard. I told him it was pretty obvious. It is a particular burden that we bear, we Harvardians, unable to even say the name of our school without causing a great hullabaloo.
At the party last night, Thomas asked me to produce my ID again to convince his interlocutor that I go to Harvard. This isn't really annoying, it's just funny. One sort of loses a sense of what the Harvard name means. Has this experience made me more appreciative of the blessings of my life? Probably not, but maybe. Maybe.
Also, the parents at times avoid and say "study in Boston" when asked about where our son attends school, though it is also FUN to drop the "H" bomb. I would say it is mostly enjoyable to drop.....
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about this yesterday. For most people, asking what college they went to is a good way to start a conversation. For us, it's a good way to end it. We become people who can leap across any mental chasm, who can master the intricacies of any argument, who are implicitly better than our interlocutors. And none of that is true but the other person usually wishes that it be so.
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