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I’m an Economics/Philosophy double major, for those who haven’t read my super-sweet biography on this blog yet. I fell into the Philosophy major as a wayward sophomore (not that majoring in Philosophy makes you wayward, per se…); I actively pursued the Economics major as — not only a more “practical” option — but a field that I was genuinely interested in, and always have been. However, I was initially scared away from Economics because I’m not, ah, exactly numbers-oriented.

So if you have taken an Economics class at Cornell — or anywhere — you know that the math is easy. Super-easy. Review the first month of a basic calculus course and you’ve got the gist of it. What is REALLY hard — and really tests the mettle of all those qualitative, artsy, would-be Economics majors out there — is making the synergistic connections between the economic concepts and the mathematical models, regressions and equations that help you reach those concepts. An example: finding the derivative of a basic total cost equation is easy. However, learning to really understand the importance and application of this “marginal cost” derivative to different aspects of economics has driven many introductory macroeconomic students to near insanity.

But what I realized when I was accepted to the economics major is that, like anything in life, it’s not a good idea to get bogged down in the numbers. Certainly the numbers are incredibly crucial — to my grade point average, for instance — but the fact is, I was fascinated by what made the markets tick, what made certain businesses and industries successful, and overall, learning why the heck the economy does what it does. And hey, if Cornell accepted me, I figured I must be at least good enough for the most popular major in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

If I could tell you how many hours I've spent studying this single graph...

This Saturday, the legendary GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan will be coming to Cornell to give a lecture titled “Arts, Beats, and Eats with the GZA.” It is part of a mini-tour of college campuses, and it seems like GZA has  some high standards for his lectures. He said that he hopes to “take a quantum leap and discuss the universe while taking us on a journey through deep space. Traveling at light-speed from the galactic center of one galaxy to the farthest corners of another. I hope my listeners will enjoy this cosmic adventure within a world of colossal planets, gas giants, meteorites, comets, and asteroids in the most extreme conditions.”

So I don’t know what he means by that, but I’m excited. Heck, I’m not even that big a Wu-Tang fan, at least compared to some of my friends, but I still figure it will be a unique way to spend a Saturday evening. What’s awesome is that this is only the latest in a long series of impressive lectures and interactions I have had with hip-hop luminaries since coming to Cornell; the full list is in this post I wrote last semester.

I think these sort of unique opportunities are the hallmark of a vibrant campus community. Bringing in artists like GZA — a singularly progressive force in music — incites students to think outside the box, in a way that a guest professor lecturing may not. As thought-provoking as GZA’s lecture will probably be, what he represents as an artist is just as inspiring to students. I wouldn’t be surprised if half the record execs Wu-Tang pitched to in the early 1990′s had no idea what the hell they were talking about with their “Shaolin,” “monkey style” and “killa bee” slang. Twenty years later, the Wu has created a culture and an iconic brand. And what college student doesn’t dream of leading stylistic cultural revolution? Now if I could only take a road trip to NYU in time for the Lil B lecture, my semester would be complete.

A few weeks ago, I voiced my skepticism on the necessity of blowing money on an extravagant Spring Break. Shortly after writing that post, I spent a few hundred dollars for round-trip tickets to Las Vegas. YOLO.

I just got back from that trip yesterday — it was great. Epic. Not much more to say about it. My friends and I painted the city red and I don’t think The Cosmopolitan hotel room #2101 will ever fully recover.  But the trip also got me thinking about an issue that has come up frequently ever since the rap wars of the 1990′s: East Coast vs. West Coast.

As soon as we stepped out of the airport, I could feel something different in the air. It wasn’t just the Las Vegas dry heat either — it was something visceral. People seemed more relaxed — obvious, perhaps, considering I was in a city of tourists on vacation, but it was the type of “relaxed” that was ingrained in every part of the city, from the residential neighborhood I stayed in for the first night to the opulent hotel we holed up in for the last several days of the trip. The city seemed to have a laid-back swagger about it, and this wasn’t my first observation either. On every trip I’ve taken to visit my grandparents in San Francisco since I was a youngster, the West Coast has always seemed to have a much more steady pace then the East Coast.

Now, I know it would take a little more then just vacation time on the West Coast to truly understand the place, but regardless, I think that the difference between the East Coast and West Coast is something I can appreciate as a tourist, at the very least. For now, I’m happy to be living and working as a fast-paced, stressed-out East Coast college student, and taking a trip to the desert of Nevada was at once reinvigorating and eye-opening. Taking a break from my college work was like Las Vegas partying — good in small doses, but wearisome in abundance. I’m happy to be back.

Several of my roommates were discussing potential spring break plans earlier this week. One of them may be heading out to Las Vegas with a few of our other fraternity brothers. Another is adamant about spending spring break with friends from his hometown — a “last hurrah” for him and his crew.  I weighed the possibility of joining either one of my roommates on their respective trips, but — though the jury is still out — I am strongly considering laying low this spring break.

By “laying low,” I mean that I may just stay in our apartment in Ithaca, pick up some extra hours at my job at Johnson, and generally recoup for the last half of my last semester at Cornell. Maybe take a day trip to NYC, but nothing too crazy. This is a far cry from the beer-drenched, road trip Spring Break extravaganzas I always imagined having in college, but to be honest, I feel like the fun I have during the school year is more then enough keep me stead over. And plus, there is the far more important (in my opinion) issue of the post-graduation trip to plan and pay for.

There is still more then a month until Spring Break, so I have a bit of a time cushion until I really have to make the big decisions. I may very well end up biting my tongue on this post and taking a trip to Cancun for a week of debauched and derelict living. I’ve had some great road trips and breaks during college, but have never exactly blown the bank on a big Spring Break trip. I like to think this is for the better, but my roommates may convince me otherwise.

Rush Week officially begins on Monday — I’m excited. More so then just seeing what the new Delta Chi pledge class will look like, I’m excited to meet a ton of freshman (and sophomore) Cornellians over the next week with, undoubtedly, a lot of cool experiences to relate. A lot of rush week is simply that — getting into deep, sometimes exciting conversations with new people. There are, of course, the occasional stretches of time where you’re exhausted after several hours of schmoozing and just want to relax. However, as this is my last rush week as an undergraduate, I’d like to keep the “down time” to a minimum and get to know as many people as I can — and hopefully positively influence a few people in the process, whether they join my house or not. Good luck, rushees! Let the games begin.

The entrance to North Campus