With all the hope and potential of a new semester.

So I started my reading for Continental Authors (six weeks in The Brothers Karamazov alone!) and I realized that I am now the same age as the protagonist, Alyosha (Alexey). I'm not that much older than when I first read it, but a year and a half of college and all that comes with it separates me from the I-wish-I-were-anywhere-but-here-doing-anything-but-this state I was in that induced me to pick up Dostoevsky in the first place. I picked up a lot of other stuff, too, in that year and a half in between schools (which is why I can link to my half-formed, ill-informed thoughts on literature), and I am glad for it, especially because I can now approach works like this one with a foundational understanding. After the infatuation of the first read-through, with the thrill of the unknown and the what-happens-next impetus, I can settle into the familiar rhythm and take notice of the more subtle and masterful aspects of the work.

And maybe I can begin to try and understand the ideas that Alyosha wrestles with as well. Knowing that we are the same age gives me the confidence that I have the capability to look at the existence of God and the problem of evil as earnestly and as comprehendingly as he does. Having an incredible professor helps.