Two unrelated things

"Yesterday, I believe I would never have done what I did today."

Cloud Atlas is becoming a movie. It looks like it's becoming an insanely awesome movie. I must watch it. 

Today I had one of my classes, Teaching College Composition. It's a great atmosphere, very energetic and open. A place where we can discuss, easily, the issues of gender, sex, sexuality, race, and other tensions in the classroom. Afterward we all went to the pub and our prof. joined us for a drink. Such a strange thing to think of, let alone happen! But I admit to some happiness that she joined us because she singled me out and said she really enjoyed my response for one of our case studies. She thought I had understood the subject really well. It's a class that I hope will help me attain a TA for next year, and so to have that first bit of praise and motivation is really nice. 

It was interesting though because I am really getting to know some of the other MA/MFA's for the first time. It is a very strange environment to be sure, because I feel as though everyone is sizing everyone else up, myself included. I think I surprised one guy in particular when we began to discuss art and my enjoyment of block printing because it's a very good medium for joining language and visual art together. He already has an MFA in painting, so hearing his take was very interesting. But it occurred to me that I really was surprising him. It's strange because I felt so well-liked in the 'burg that I suddenly feel that pressure again to gain respect from my peers. I think that pressure doesn't stop from here on out (a forever kind of thing), but I hope to gain a few more friends before long. I think in a way I may also be judging this MFA Painter, putting him into a category that he may still defy. And I realize I've been doing this more to the potential writers I've met than to anyone else. 

If girls are harder on girls, writers are hardest on other writers.

Which is scary when you realize it can come back to you.