Random 6.16.08

Hello from South Bend, IN.
Here I will begin my third post, here in Alumni Hall, overlooking the great quad at Notre Dame, here and now, this morning. I haven't much time.

What has been of interest to me in the past week? I will begin, I guess, since now I know not where to, on Thursday evening, the 12th of June. That night, officially, and in mighty style, Congressman Ron Paul announced two things. First of all, and to the pleasure of every other Washington politician, he suspended his campaign for the presidency. Not a surprise, no, but now that Dr. Paul has made his mark on the American political landscape, his second announcement comes into play. Ron Paul has established himself, and, far more importantly, his ideas, permanently in American politics with the founding of the Campaign for Liberty. This new organization, according to Paul, will be an instrument of education and lobbying, a tool for any American, and all Americans, to use in support of ideas of liberty, limited government, capitalism, and democracy (usually in republican form, albeit). OK.

Who is Ron Paul, and why do I support him? (Now, probably, many will have stopped reading due to what appears to be another hymn of praise by a Ron Paul fanboy. Fear not.) Truth be told, Ron Paul, since at least last November, when I first begin to take an interest in the presidential election, has been the only candidate in which I could relate most to in almost every policy. Free trade? Yep. Free market capitalism? Of course. Non-interventionist foreign policy of discussion and resolution? Uniquely. Domestic liberty? Minimal government? Reduced bureaucracy? The list goes on. In short, he was my man. And he still is. If anything about Ron Paul should stand out immediately, it is the consistency of his message. Ever since his entrance into politics decades ago, he principles, his values, his policies, his views have remained pure and unwavering. That, whether or not you can agree with him on his specific views, holds definite merit. For me, however, perhaps most importantly, Ron Paul has been an inspiration. A leader, they say, in his most essential form, must motivate and inspire others. Personally, and also across America, I think his influence has been enormous. Only six months ago, I was generally apathetic about U.S. politics. Today, I would say, I am a bit more involved.

Although the title of this post is "Random 6.16.08," there are two very obvious things to note regarding its honesty. For one, it is now June 22 and I have yet to actually publish. (Needless to say, I have found myself once again in a lazy rut when it comes to writing.) Maybe continuing later as tradition, the "Random _" series title expresses only anonymity to the story within, perhaps drawing you in or perhaps only boring you. Anyway, I feel better not having to think of titles (often because of the way my ideas for posts can change dramatically between concept to publishing). Now since I have relieved myself of this odd weight, I will try to continue.

I'm guessing that I started this post still high on Ron Paul. Although I don't exactly tire of political talk, I feel obliged to share some of my experiences here at Notre Dame's Career Discovery in Architecture program. I have made the decision, for now at least, to study architecture in college. In exploration of both the major and the University, I decided upon this 12-day adventure in South Bend. So far, it's been really fun, with good projects, decent curriculum, interesting field excursions, amazing TA's, approachable professors, and great friends. All in all, you may say, then, it is great. Many questions arise, however, in reconsidering my position. Although I am absolutely dedicated to the architecture profession, I worry about leaving my other interests behind. I planned to take a second major in economics and maybe polysci, but (as I knew for some time) the architecture student's schedule doesn't lend itself readily to double majoring. (Some students that I have talked to have commented on the 50-70 hours a week spent solely in the studio after classes.) So, obviously, that is a problem. More specifically to Notre Dame, I need to consider whether the conservative environment is right for my ideas in architecture. The School of Architecture's faculty are of a very conservative type. This can be extremely admirable, especially in their distaste for modern urban planning (or lack thereof) and insensitive renovations to historical buildings, but also detrimental, I fear, with the general anti-modernist environment set up from the beginning lectures. There is definitely a "school" of architecture practiced here; I just have to figure out if I could live with it.

Tomorrow, we are heading out as a group to Marshall, MI, a very small, historical town in the southern part of the state. As far as I am concerned, the trip is designed to highlight the classic urban planning that went into the town and to showcase good examples of a variety of styles of architecture. After spending almost 10 hours in studio every day, it is definitely going to be nice to get off campus. So that's that.

In other news, . . . . Well, I just don't care much right now. I'ven't had much free writing time this past week, and, frankly, my mind has been other places. This post needs to get published. I wish I could write more, on anything, but, as it is now after one o'clock, I do think it time to retire. I have to be up in about six hours, so I'll leave it at this.

I'll try to write more regularly.

Until then, sincerely,

Brandon