Like A Begging Dog

On a similar note to my previous post, there is this student in one of my classes who constantly interrupts the teacher to contribute here own information and anecdotes. To be fair, she does sometimes raise here hand. However, every four minutes she tries to add something. Most of the time, it is not really information pertinent to the course. Granted, the course is not very specific about what is pertinent information. The class is essentially about transitioning from college life to real life, so it covers topics like resumes, cover letters, apartment leases, bills, health insurance, etc. However, personal anecdotes acting as a superfluous examples are a problem. Here are some paraphrased examples of her contributions:

"Hey, that's the name of my mom's law firm."

"That happens to my dad a lot. He tries to avoid it by doing this, but that doesn't help."

"At the hospital I work at (insert name here) the other nurses talk about that all the time."

"My brother is the number two goalie on the east coast. It's kind of a big deal."

Though the constant interruptions are certainly annoying, the real problem here is that the individual is trying to have her life affirmed. She is like a begging dog. Asking the teacher to call on her, and praise her for her examples. In some cases, she is not even seeking praise for an example. She is just seeking praise for a quality about another member of her family.

The problems here are one, she is dependent upon the reactions from the other class members and the teachers to make her happy. As I stated in the previous post, happiness is only achieved independently. The actions of others cannot make one happy, for it requires dependence, which requires one to violate his nature as an independent reasonable individual.

The second problem is that she is using the qualities of her family members to gain affirmation of her life. She is not even stating her own accomplishments. It is about her brother's "big deal" accomplishment as the number two goalie on the east coast. The prestigious law firm her mother works with. The wit and intelligence of her father. However, there is nothing about her own accomplishments. Therefore, she is not only dependent on reactions, but also dependent on the accomplishments of people she knows. Just as one is not guilty by association, one is not successful by association. She is only violating the independent quality of her nature two fold.