🤠Howdy Humsters🤠
My name is Sam Heie and I am a freshman at the elite Davidson College. I was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia, but moved to Phoenix, Arizona when I was two and then to Manchester, England, when I was six. After my roundabout journey, I returned to my birthplace in Harrisonburg where I endured the malice of American middle school through high school. I chose to come to Davidson because of the personalized education and the massive networking opportunity that the school offers.
My journey in Humes has been a series of bumps and bipolar affection. There have been times that I have loved the course and times that the lure of my bed at 9:40 a.m. has seemed overpowering in comparison to my desire to go to Humes. That being said, I view my journey in the class as a reflection of my journey in college: an adjustment of my mentality.
When I first began the course, I had issues keeping up with the pace of the reading, especially considering that it was easy to get away with lagging behind the rest of the class. I reached a point that the discussions and lectures were no longer engaging because I hadn’t properly prepared myself with the reading materials. The feeling of disconnect with the rest of my class was enough to drive me to do better. I began dedicating more time to the course material, which resulted in a more engaging experience in the course. Since this adjustment, I’ve developed an appreciation for the intellectual challenges that the course poses.
Humes has challenged me to reach beyond my own bank of knowledge and experience, expanding my understanding of the functions of everyday life. Instead of teaching me objective or trivial information, Humes has pushed me to elevate my thinking and understand the most fundamental elements of the human experience. Instead of asking ‘what,’ I’ve been tasked with asking ‘why’ and ‘how.’ How does someone’s conceptual scheme affect their perspective on a certain issue? Why was there such a stark division between the Hutus and the Tutsis? Etc.
My portfolio is a reduction of my experience in the course, the adjustment of my mentality, and the transition to a higher level of thinking. In your viewing of my portfolio, I challenge you to analyze your own reactions to the works and ask yourself why you have those reactions. Hopefully, the pensive state you find yourself in while self-analyzing your reactions will give you an idea of how Humes has challenged me to think about a plethora of ideas. In expanding your knowledge of topics such as identity and revolution, I hope that you expand your knowledge of self.
