Box Happy (Cats)

I unpacked my kitchen stuff just now. I’ve still got the packing paper and the boxes on the floor right beside me. One of my cats (probably George) was hounding me wanting to get into a box. So I finally took one box and placed it on its side for the cats to play with.

Currently they’re fighting Cat War MMCCCXXXIX over the box. (thats 2,339 for the Roman Numerically Disinclined) What probably got it started is one of my cats got in there, then Squeaky, a larger cat who has lived here longer, decided that he wanted to box. Somehow in my absence Squeaky got the box. The little ones then started attacking the box and trying to get Squeaky to get out of it. Its been sort of comical these three cats placing all this effort in getting into the box and keeping it. Its almost as ludicrous as the Florida fiasco, but that counted for something.

I’ve been searching schools very idly deciding which major I want to go after. I’m quite decided that its not going to be theatre. But I’m also frustrated with having to consider committing to another major. I know at this point I enjoy philosophy and writing, but do I want to box myself off in that field, what is to prevent me from coming up against the same problem in the future? How do I know four years down the road I’m going to look at things and say, "you know this doesn’t fit me." Then I’d be stuck at the same point I was in this past February.

I would say the one saving grace of philosophy is that you only have to specialize for so long. The professors I know have wandered from various different research projects and different things, so in that respect you’re not always doing the same thing.

You know I find it amazing that anyone can hop into these nice neat boxes of what they do. They identify with phrases like: "I’m a computer scientist." "I’m an actor." "I’m a baseball player." "I’m an accountant."

I think some of the reason people tend to do this is because they want to be able to rank themselves against others in their field, they want to be the best, or very good in their field. Its much more difficult to say "I’m the best person," than to say "I’m the best accountant" (Even that though might be hard to say, who wants to be the best accountant?)

I’ve always struggled trying to be placed in a box; I’m at the point now that very happily get out of all boxes and try to exist in none of them. Lots of people find this foreign and strange. They’re all box happy finding this the way to go, and look at box phobic people like me as lost.

Perhaps this is why I find Cat War MMCCCXXXIX so strange. Why would any of them want to be in the box?