Feeling Paltry Amongst Punk Ass Kids

One of the maxim's I live by is to not give a shit about what other people think. A wise man once said, "Confidence is the secret to a man's success" (Obama's father to Barack), and I concur. Making an effort to think rationally and not be swayed by the misguided perceptions of society or individuals is synonymous with manhood.

Unfortunately, I seem to be having trouble with this concept during my weekly discussion sections in ARC 318L. When it is my turn to speak, I often feel intimidated and self-conscious, which inhibits the clear expression of my ideas. This intimidation stems from need to prove myself to the architecture students. They have a more thorough education on the subjects we discuss, and I often feel like I'm going to say something really ignorant. Added to this is my longing to become friends with these people who share my interests and who I, in a way, look up to. In effect, I get nervous and then immediately despise myself for allowing younger people to make me feel self-conscious. It sucks.

On the bright side, however, my response to Frank Lloyd Wright's "In the Case of Architecture" article receive maximum points. Finally, a good grade. The class also seemed to be impressed with my topic selection for our final project, which is a comparison between the modern residential architecture of South Korea and that which was built before the Japanese occupation of 1910.