That Guy

I survived the epoch of syllabus week with my brains largely intact within my skull. My head remains free of zombie attacks and the increasingly more likely self-inflicted gunshot wound. However, I can't help but notice in every class the presence of that guy. When I say that guy I'm not describing a specific individual. In my entire life I've never had a class that didn't have that guy in it. Sometimes that guy is a girl. That guy's mouth moves faster than his brain and he lives for inappropriate interjection. Professors deal with him in different ways.

My creative process instructor exhibits a clear inability to ignore that guy. After watching a biographical film on Vincent van Gogh, before my instructor even turned the lights back on, that guy started rambling: "Dude, he was totally bipolar. Don't you think he was bipolar? I mean, like, he was clearly, like, really sad at some points in his life, but then like.. he had the manic phases too. That's total manic-depressive shit. I mean, dude, I've been around a lot of bipolar people, and van Gogh was totally bipolar. Like how at the end of his life, he finally achieved this awesome success and recognition, but then, he like kills himself. For reals." No one is contesting van Gogh is a psychologically interesting character, and somewhere in the drivel that guy makes a point about how mental illness may have played a role in van Gogh's artistic vision. However, he wouldn't stop. His diagnosis of Vincent van Gogh continued for at least twenty minutes despite my instructor's attempts to derail him.

At least three confirmed those guys sit in the first two rows of my writing class. My professor handles them extremely effectively. Despite the tendency of those guys to amplify each other, he skillfully redirects, interrupts, or tastefully ignores them. He maintains control over the discussion without insulting those guys and leaves plenty of room for more thoughtful people to participate.

I hate pretension, so I try not to be snob. Part of me feels a little guilty blogging about something as condescending as my opinion of that guy. That guy does appear to be really amped about his education. However, the content and method of his enthusiasm appears to be directed more toward feeling secure about what he thinks he already knows rather than acquiring anything new. He is a hindrance to my concentration, expression, and learning, so I am forced to regard him with utmost contempt.