Freestyle

Free-style
“The great world never much interested me(except at the back of my head) since its effects, from what I observed, were so disastrously trivial-other than in their bulk; smelled the same as most public places.” (Carlos, p.289)

I am currently reading(skimming and jumping pages) The Autobiography of William Carlos Williams. In his essay Of Medicine and Poetry, this concluding statement was made to convey the message that in any given situation, it’s what you make out of it. The author is now certain in his profession as a physician in comparison to his earlier essay titled Medicine in which clearly depicts his doubts ( which is a career pathway battle between medicine and writing). In the end he choose medicine as a vessel because it was more practical. He knows very well that writing would not financially support him.
In his essay of Medicine and Poetry, he clearly showed optimism in both medicine and poetry. He introduces this piece by describing medicine as a sort of an artistic process. Art does not judge nor does it favor and this uncovered truth led him to a enlighten perspective on medicine. In regards to writing and poetry, he has shown great compassion for it in earlier writings and strongly reaffirmed it in this piece. He also considers writing a great form of art.
The initial negative connotation that struck me when I initially read the quote was subdued after dissecting the sentence and relating it to the overall thesis of the writing. I think the usage of the phrase “smelled the same as most public places”, serves its purpose for comedic effect. In parenthesis, he states that “The great world never interested me (except at the back of my head) …” and with this, he incorporated it into his life long profession and his never-dying love for writing.
It relates to me in a sense that being in college, you don’t necessarily enjoy every aspect of it. The constant cramming and procrastinating at times could get tiring. To ease the burden of everyday life I need to put into practice that everyday is really what you make of it. Mentality and attitude counts for the most part and it plays a role how you develop as a person. Also, this had thought me to be optimistic. Find the good in what you do.