by Aldus Marius on Fri Jul 16, 2004 2:14 am
Avete discipuli!
And then there are some of us...more than we usually hear from, I think...who are not "making" any formal studies at all. Your question didn't mean to leave us out, did it?
I am 18 years U.S. Air Force, now retired. I have a college degree in Anthropology and consider myself a Historical Cultural Anthropologist, one who studies the daily lives of peoples who lived long ago--in my case, obviously, the Romans! I gained this degree in the pursuit of greater authenticity in renactment and roleplay...in other words, for fun. That I may also have Romans for ancestors (just about anyone with roots in Western Europe does) has made my schooling a chance to explore my Heritage. Courses that had impact on my game-world and my understanding of the ancients:
-- The usual suspects, like Western Civ I and World Literature
-- Physical and Cultural Geography
-- Cultural Anthropology
-- English (where I wrote all those Latin papers)
-- Philosophy
-- Geometry (it's not about shapes, it's a discipline of thought)
-- World Religions
-- Choir (all that Latin...!)
-- ...and many more; really, almost every class I took was relevant some way!
Off-campus I have learned warehousing, teaching (as a Drill Sergeant), nursing, aircraft maintenance, search-and-recovery, auto repair, computer tech support, database programming, excruciating levels of record-keeping, and being homeless. My involvement in roleplaying is responsible for what social skills I possess. I have recently taken up the manufacture of bead jewelry.
I am now a student of Life, and wander my part of the planet communing with nature and the local spirits. I rescue dogs without homes, and go to war for dogs with bad ones. I will eventually figure out more of what I believe; and when I do, it'll be mine, not a Sunday-school hand-me-down. To live is to learn. I ain't half done yet.
In amicitia et fide,
Aldus Marius Peregrinus.