I chose philosophy because it sounded like something I ought to be interested in. I didn't know anything about it, I didn't even know what it was talking about. What I really spent my time doing in those years was writing short stories. There were all sorts of interesting courses, but what I really wanted to do was make stories one way or another.
The essays are different because ultimately it's things I'm interested in, and I'm really just writing about myself and using those subjects as a prism.