CURRENT MISSION

See the world reasonably cheaply

ABOUT ME

Hey. My name's Ben and I'm 20 years old. I'm a philosophy student, spending the year in Nottingham, England.

PHILOSOPHY

Boy, this is a hard question. I guess one idea that's been in my head for a while now is: Don't take yourself too seriously. Specifically, consider the welfare of others more than you consider your own.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

From Dec. 10 through Jan. 10 I have to be out of my flat. So I'm going to be traveling for a month and have to be efficient w/ my money. That's where couch surfing comes in. I have friends who've done it before and they've all had great experiences. I'm really looking forward to having a welcoming place to stay; as opposed to an expensive hostel. But I'm most excited about spending time w/ hosts who know their city and are kind enough to host a traveling stranger.

Interests

At school I mostly focus on philosophy. But I'm also really interested in evolutionary psychology, religion, literature and film. My trouble w/ school is that almost everything interests me, so it's sometimes hard to focus on only one thing.

• writing
• literature
• traveling
• surfing
• psychology
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Lawrence of Arabia, There Will Be Blood, American Beauty, Wonderboys, I'm Not There

Music: Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Lou Reed, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Miles Davis, The Velvet Underground, Eric Clapton, Elton John

Favorite Authors: Philip Roth, David Foster Wallace, Cormac McCarthy, Jonathan Franzen, Don Delillo, Richard Ford

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

About a year ago I got to interview the author Robert Wright at my college. He's good friends w/ my philosophy adviser, so my adviser worked it out so that I could interview Wright for our little student newspaper. It's nerdy, but that was one of the most notable experiences as of late. To talk one-on-one w/ someone you admire and respect.

But also, more importantly, simply the past few years at college have been amazing. I've had good times and bad, I've seen things I'd never seen before and thought things I never thought before. It's been an incredible experience, and I'll be sad to see it end.

Countries I’ve Visited

Poland

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom

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