Courtney Johnson
Prof Sean scanlan
English1121 composition 2
10/9/2022
Intellectual Homes and character development
When it comes to my intellectual home, I’d like to think that it consists of people, place
and process. This consists of being either in my room or in my living room copying notes from
powerpoints into my notebook or reading. Most times, I’ll be on facetime with my best friend
while she does her homework. We’ll just listen to music, talk about our homework, and bounce
ideas off of eachother. I have a really short attention span so listening to music while I’m doing it
is essential. It keeps me focused. Even as I’m making this, I have music playing and I’m still
being distracted however, it does help a lot. Out of all of them though, I’d have to say that
process and people are most important because they’re the most prominent roots in my
development as a person.
I’d very much like to be like Malcolm X and Salvatore Scibona. While I do really like
Scibona’s reading and his development, I prefer Malcolm X’s specifically because his
intellectual home consists of all three aspects just like me, and I find it very interesting that I
relate to such a major historical figure in that regard. Scibona’s intellectual home place being St.
John’s college, and process, which was reading. Malcolm X’s intellectual home, like I said,
consisted of all three. People being Elijah Muhammad and Bimbi, place being prison more
specifically, his cell and the library, and process being reading and copying and memorizing
entire dictionaries. They both however have major character development
I live in a very small apartment. The only spots in my apartment that I have space to relax
and study are my living room and my own room. Whenever I do anything academic, there needs
to be very specific conditions. Lights either need to be off or any random color (I have lights that
can change colors). There MUST be music playing because it helps me focus, and most times my
best friend will be on the phone with me and we do our homework or study together. I chose
Scibona and X’s articles because I love the connection between their intellectual homes and how
their homes helped them develop as people.
For instance when X said “In the street, I had been the most articulate hustler out there. I
had commanded attention when I said something. But now, trying to write simple English, I not
only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even functional. How would I sound writing in slang, the way 1
would say it, something such as, “Look, daddy, let me pull your coat about a cat, Elijah
Muhammad—”. He comes to a realization that he’s not articulate when it comes to trying to
express himself to Elijah Muhammad. Then there’s Bimbi who he tries to emulate, but fails. “…
when Bimbi first made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge. Bimbi had always taken charge
of any conversations he was in, and I had tried to emulate him. But every book I picked up had
few sentences which didn’t contain anywhere from one to nearly all of the words that might as
well have been in Chinese.” This in addition to his realizing that he isn’t as articulate as he wants
to be inspires him to start reading.
I know I’m not in prison, but I know the people in my intellectual home inspire me the
same as they inspire Malcolm X. My best friend loves writing so when she gives me her papers
to proof-read, sometimes I’m left astonished by how succinctly she puts her thoughts on paper.
It’s a constant reminder and inspiration to read and write when I get the chance. The other aspects
of my intellectual home help with that too because I set a mood I want with my lights and music
and lose myself in my work and my reading.
Scibona as opposed to X did have a traditional education, but did not take it seriously
until he went to college. His intellectual home was made up of a place, being St Johns, and
process which was reading. Our intellectual don’t have similarities other than our process,
however there is one thing that is really similar. That would the change we had when going into
college from high school. “And I loved this whole perverse and beautiful idea. I would scrap
everything (or so I usefully believed) and go to that place and ask them to let me in. It felt like a
vocation. It was a vocation… Reader, I married it” I relate to this because when I went into college, I
promised to be as diligent as humanly possible when it came to academics. “I carried bricks and mortar
to rooftops during the summers, but if I hadn’t made time to read the night before, my legs wore out by
noon. Even my body needed to read.” Although I don’t share is exact same sentiment for reading, I
know that college is the reason for me enjoying academics more than when I was in high school
All in all, X and Scibona have intellectual homes that I find very interesting. They were
the sole reasons for their development as people and I hope to have development quite like them
as my intellectual home changes. Next semester I’m transferring to a college upstate and I’m
really excited to see where that takes me.
