Jose Quintero: for Rahmani’s Pessimism

After reading Bilal Rahmani’s Chronicles of a Once Pessimistic College Freshman, it seems that the College is Rahmani’s Intellectual Home. This can be inferred from how Rahmani’s attitude toward the college changed, where on a certain day in college, where their stance on an author and story, Hemingway’s Cat in the Rain, changed. This thought process was altered from their classmates different opinions on the author, with one on them standing out, calling Hemingway a misogynist. It was from these differing opinions that Rahmani finally started to enjoy his time in college, since it forced them to think of the story in ways they would have never thought of. Due to what seems to be a self reinforced notion that their stance on a story trumps anyone else’s opinion, which is supported from Rahmani’s knee-jerk reaction, calling this a “minor slip-up”. It seems that, in their own hindsight, they realized that they were giving themselves an inflated ego. Calling their peers idiots, only because the college Rahmani originally wanted to go to, was somehow better in every way to the place they ended up in. It was from this wake-up call that they finally changed a monotonous life style, to one that they can participate and give back to, not only willingly, but also joyfully as well.