I'm sitting in a local cafe catching up with a former student. We're on our second cups of coffee when he says, “No one really ponders anything anymore.”
As a student, he was the type of fourteen year old who would read Aurelius, cite him in class discussion, and elicit eye rolls from his peers. He could tell you about all five waves of emo. He watched every Tarantino film and knew the influences. He also couldn't meet a deadline or remember where he left his phone. I remember being in something like awe of him.
“No one really ponders anything anymore,” he says. “All these podcasts and think pieces just get drowned out by the next piece of content.” There it was, again. The awe.
He's right. Most of what I read or listen to or Google serves as background noise or a way to pass time while I wait at the checkout line. Sometimes reading the headlines counts as being informed. I've grown to take information and conversation in for the dopamine kick. Maybe it's also to feel some sense of intellectual superiority. “I heard that on a podcast,” I say as if I've actually thought about the issue I'm addressing.
I want to live a more considered life. So here it is. My considerations, ponderings, and first draft thoughts. This is my space to think.