Bohemianism Introduction

 Going into this semester, I was not wholly certain of what this class would entail. The study of Bohemianism, in general, had never been one that I truly delved into - thus, leaving me truly intrigued as to what topics this course would address. With this being said, upon first glance at this course selection, I immediately found myself thinking of Freddie Mercury’s, “Bohemian Rhapsody”. In saying this, while I had this song as a reference, that left me with very little knowledge to go off of. 

With this lack of understanding, I quickly found myself on Merriam-Webster searching what exactly constitutes that which is “Bohemian,” but even then, I felt as though I was still in the exact same spot. For instance, the only definitions I found were, “A native or inhabitant of Bohemia” and “A person (such as a writer or an artist) living an unconventional life usually in a colony with others)” (Merriam-Webster). So with that, I can honestly say that the first definition did very little to help in my search for understanding, but the second gave me a small glimpse into a better grasp of the concept. 

With this being said, “unconventional life” led me to believe that which is Bohemian could be seen as that which goes against societal norms - whether that be in regards to gender norms, economic means, the list goes on. But even so, this small glimpse into Bohemianism led me down a long-winded thought process that was truly based on two words provided to me by Merriam-Webster. So yes, these two words gave me something to think about, but who is to truly say that this thought process was even wholly correct. With that, I found myself at odds with what I thought I knew about what would be in store for me this semester.

So once again, I found myself back at Mercury’s song; analyzing his lyrics and hoping that would give me something to say for that first Zoom session. Moments before I was to log onto Zoom, I found myself anxiously scrolling up and down the lyrics of the song hoping to be able to make a connection to the little understanding I had formulated. 

I stared blankly at the screen hoping something would come to me - hoping a sentence or phrase would jump off the screen and give me something to speak of if I happened to be called on during that first Zoom session. And that is when I found myself staring at a certain phrase, “I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy because I’m easy come, easy go a little high, little low” (Bohemian Rhapsody). I hurriedly wrote this line in my day-old notebook and moments later I found myself hovering the mouse over the blue “Join” button we have all grown to know oh so well. 

I then took a deep breath and entered the Zoom meeting. I found myself repeating this line over and over again in my head, preparing myself for if my name was called on. “Julia, if you are called on, remember to open with the fact that this is an entirely new topic for you. That way no one will judge you for whatever you anxiously blurt out”.