A Homeless Man Changed My Life...a little

Personally, I believe Everything Bad Is Good For You presents a childish, unsupportable thesis. It offers no legitimate evidence to prove its esoteric point. I will not use it to make my wild ideas about 'random things making us smarter' seem any more valid. After reading his books, The Tipping Point and Blink, books that offered real statistical data to support their claims, I'm surprised Gladwell wrote a positive review of this book. But, alas, so I don't get an F on this assignment, let me take this chance to offer some of my own wacky perceptions on how living at Drexel is making me smarter (aside from tradishonal 'book learnin', as my cousin Butch calls it). I think college helps individuals deal with awkward situations. After living in the protective custody of mom and dad our entire lives, we are suddenly given ultimate freedom and ultimate responsibility for what happens to us- good and bad. To share a personal anecdote, I've noticed a large homeless problem in Philly. Last Friday at one in the morning I saw a burly homeless man practicing his karate moves on the sidewalk and preaching about baby Jesus. As someone who now lives in a beach town on Cape Cod, I wasn't quite sure how to deal with the situation. Should I run away? If I do, will he freak out and come after me? Do I try to walk by him? Am I going to die tonight? (I had been drinking so I was also asking myself where the nearest bathroom was.) My friends and I just stared at him for a while and decided to cross the street. My point is that living away in a new environment taught me something new Friday night- don't get into a karate match with a crazy homeless man. That's just one example of how a small event helped raise my street IQ. The more we experience life, the better equipped we are to deal with whatever dilemma is thrown at us.