John is the most peculiar character I think I have ever met. He first talked to me on one of the first days of physics lectures this year, and I dubbed him as peculiar the first day I met him. He had a certain way about him that intrigued me, he looked at me with a smile and said “Good morning” in a manner I was not quite used to and it made me laugh. From that day on he began talking to me more and more, each occurrence slightly more distinctive then the last. He would ask me random questions such as “What are your hobbies?” and I would just smile and he would ask “why are you smiling?” I didn’t know why I smiled or why I thought each conversation with him was so eccentric, but he was interesting…more interesting than physics at least. Each day began to be a different story with John; one day he is commenting on his readings of the Koran, the next day he’s reading a French novel (he doesn’t understand French but he’d like to). One day he shaves his head because he wants to become a monk, and the next he is on some fast in which you do not eat during daylight.
So one day I am incredibly late for class and in my attempt to not disturb others’ learning I sit in the very back row, which is a dimly lit, little corner by the door where you can’t even see the professor… at all. So as I sit and attempt to take my notes, John strolls in and sits beside me. He then whispers in my ear “I have to tell you something”, and then he proceeds to tell me how he is not registered in university… I’m in shock. He got a hold of the timetable somehow and attends 7 lectures: physics, engineering mechanics, fluid mechanics, logic, calculus, linear algebra and ethics. He just goes to lectures and doesn’t take the tests. I don’t know if you know this or not but my physics class is at 8 am in the morning!! I can’t help but think who in their right mind would be here if they didn’t need to be??
That’s just the thing, by now I’m sure you have come to some kind of conclusion that John is not in his right mind, which is where I was as well. So by this time, I have other friends in physics as well and this new revelation has made us quite interested to know more about the life of John. I could tell by the way John dressed that he was not well off, which spun my theories that he couldn’t afford university but so badly wanted to learn. Well, we soon learned that he was homeless, living in a shelter downtown. He is 21 and works as a dishwasher in a hotel, which is how he affords to buy a chocolate chip muffin everyday (which he always offers to me). He has family in
As time moves on, I have found that John is becoming more of an annoyance to me than an interesting part of my day. He pops up behind me while I walk with my music on and scares me to death. He has asked me twice for a hug, offered his arm to escort me to class, made me a random cup of caramel mate tea, and told me he loved me and to bear his children (I told him I would pretend I didn’t hear those last comments). So I’m thinking he’s completely lost it after the child bearing comment and then he writes his web page on my notebook which is like his own little blog. After reading it I realize he’s not crazy, he’s actually a very intellectual individual, who doesn’t want to be tied down to one place. Although when I say he’s not crazy I don’t mean he’s not odd, because he really is.
So as annoying as he can be at times when I’m not in the mood for his antics, he has taught me something. As I whine and complain about having to get up so early for class, and about how much I completely loathe physics, I have to stop and think about how many people in this world would love to be in my place, would love to learn, and would love the opportunity to attend even one 50 minute lecture of physics. And as I complain about how my bed keeps getting smaller I have to stop and think about how many people would die to even have a single blanket; a pillow. Suddenly, getting out of my own bed and driving my car to class at 8 am isn’t so bad…I am blessed and I am thankful.
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