Taking notes: A technical education

I'm the only person I know who still takes notes in class by hand. And that makes me the last of a dying breed. The last person left standing. The last … of the Mohicans. 

 

But all of that changed just a few short days ago. 

 

Let me explain. In class, I'm used to taking notes "the old-fashioned way." And when I say "the old-fashioned way," I mean with pen and paper. I don't mean with stone tablets and nails. I'm sure that method worked just fine for Moses, but it seems a bit impractical in the 21st century. 

 

Besides, Moses had to take notes from God. And God hates paper. 

 

Hey, speaking of God, let's get back to me. As you recall, I was explaining how I always take notes by hand. Then I went on a long and hilarious tangent. Now it's time to refocus. 

 

I've spent the better part of my college career writing endless notes on endless sheets of paper. But a few days ago, completely on a whim, I decided to abandon my pen-and-paper-only routine and bring my laptop with me to class.  

 

Holy shit.  

 

Bringing your laptop to class is the best thing ever. I can't recommend it enough. For starters, having your laptop means you won't have to listen to your teachers anymore, which is awesome. Instead of spending an entire semester listening to Professor McBoring, why not plug in your headphones and spend an entire semester listening to "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry? Sure, you'll probably end up  failing the class, but who cares? At least you got your heart racing. In your skin-tight jeans. Because you're a teenage dream tonight. 

 

I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner. Outside of class, I mainly use my laptop for research purposes (searching for Guiding Light spoilers online). But now I can do my research in class, too. And that, my friends, is called the American Dream. Thanks, laptop. 

 

It's always fun to watch your fellow students "take notes" on their laptops, because there are so many different variations. There's the kid who takes all his notes on Facebook. What a good idea. And there's the girl who takes notes using AOL Instant Messenger — that's really convenient! 

 

And there's the kid who looks up everything his professor says on Wikipedia. That kid is a douche. He doesn't even have time to take notes because he literally searches for everything his teacher says. Right now he's searching for "let's go over the syllabus." Oops — there were no results matching that query. This kid desperately needs to get laid. 

 

I'm that kid. 

 

Teachers think we're distracted. To them, I say only this: Shut up. I'm trying to watch funny YouTube videos. 

 

For the longest time, I thought students who brought their laptops to class with them were lazy and disrespectful. But I was wrong. They have it all figured out. Instead of taking notes with pen and paper, they spend their time surfing the web and not taking notes. 

 

And that's probably for the best. After all, God hates paper.

 

Mike Sanders is a senior history major. He can be reached at sanders at umdbk dot com.