I Want to be an Oxford Donna

By: Amy Stello

Being introduced to the Oxford world is torture. This semester has made me realize that I have the mentality of, roughly, a sixty year old Oxford professor. I know that both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien are admired throughout the English-speaking community, but I find nearly everything they speak about and write about interesting. Even the Simarillion by Tolkien attracted me enough to read it.
More importantly, all the little philosophic debates which happens within the essays by Tolkien and Lewis makes me want to join in the debate. It reminds me of when I was a child and I listened to conversations between my father and his highly knowledgeable friends. I knew, and know, that my intellect would hardly allow me to compete with such great minds, but I still want to "join the dance" nonetheless. When watching the Shadowlands, I could not believe the characterization of one of Lewis's students. If I had the chance to be at Oxford, being taught by Lewis, I would hope that I would never fall asleep in a classroom of three people! I think one of the great joys in life is finding other people who share the same interests as yourself and wish to engage in conversations about those topics. As for me, I will be content to read the essays and literature of these two Dons and analyze to my heart's content.