Trying Really Hard To Still Like My Old English Professor

Okay, truthfully I’m not trying that hard…I need my angst and pissed-offness to fuel my endeavors for the next two weeks.

Here’s the thing, this professor seems like a happy person, and he’s is passionate about his area. I tend to be drawn to such people, as friends or teachers. It’s fun to hang out with people who are happy and like what they do. But now I’m starting to put him in another category, the category of people who don’t really respect your life, but manage use their pleasant demeanor to distract from that.

Consider that guy from Office Space, who would say things like “Yeeeah…I’ll need you to come in on Saturday.” Although we dislike that character for giving our protagonist busy work during what should be his personal time, that’s not the first reason. The reason we dislike him immediately is that he’s really annoying.

What’s more difficult is the person who is not annoying, who is in fact, nice. Then it takes more time to realize how cavalier that person is about infringing on one’s time in a way that is –thoughtless and not premeditated, I’m sure—but essentially a “fuck you” to one’s other major professors, and to the student—in terms of sleep, health, relationships, other academics, and teaching responsibilities, if one wants to perform well in the class.

In cases such as this, the emerging dislike is more of a slow burn…and in the case of this teacher I'm sure will disappear as soon as I turn in my final project for the class.

Maybe.