Hi!! – Introduction

Hi everyone!! Lovely to meet you all. A little bit about myself! My name is Tripti. I’m from Thailand, and yes, I don’t look like I am, but I assure you I am not fooling you. I’m in my fifth year studying Psychology and Business Management through the B+MM program. I absolutely love studying and understanding human behaviour, asking the questions of WHY someone does something. 

To be very honest, I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with literature, which is why I’ve deliberately pushed fulfilling my literature requirement till the end of my degree. I enjoy reading, but only certain things that I’m interested in. I love getting absorbed into a book, into a story, feeling like I’m part of it, but not where pieces have to get me thinking strategically or having to put too much thought into understanding what the author is trying to convey. I’ve always seen reading as an escape into a less complicated world than the one we live in. Therefore, choosing to be in this class, as much as it is to fulfil my literature requirement, is also a step outside my comfort zone that I’m choosing to take, very well knowing it might not be like books I typically choose to read. Being in this class, I’m hoping to leave with more open-mindedness on what is good reading for me, how others perceive it (intrigues me a lot when people have varying perspectives, as there’s so much to learn). 

Regarding the lecture “Inventing Romance Studies”, I love how it mentions the correct answer to ‘What the Romance world is?’, is simply “I don’t know”. Truly conveying the multiple inferences that can be made, the perspectives that can be developed and possibly even influenced by various factors like upbringing. This provides me with comfort to bring forward my perspectives or understanding of literary work, especially coming from someone who doesn’t know much about the so-called Romance World. I see Literature as I see any other form of art: as a method of expression and connection. As a dancer, we’ve always been told to add a part of ourselves to the piece we perform. Regardless of what the choreography may be, what truly makes the performance is your style, your personality, and the way you decide to perform it. It is very similar to how I perceive this concept of Romance Studies now, after the lecture. How learning that no single perspective or understanding can be claimed as ‘Romance Studies’. 

Again, I’m not too sure what I expect, but what I do know is that I’ll be learning a lot and I can’t wait! 

Best, 

Tripti