A look at the world through my eyes. Well, just part of the world.

I was engaging in a casual conversation with my friends during class the other day when Colin Powell’s name came up.

Feeling the urge to participate, I asked them, “Who’s that guy from ‘American Idol’ whose name sounds really similar?”

The judgmental look I got still haunts me. It was pretty close to the reaction I’d get if I decided to recite Boys II Men lyrics in Spanish.

Though I still stand by the fact that Simon Cowell’s name has the same number of syllables and an awfully similar pronunciation to Colin Powell’s, this incident was just one of many routine embarrassments that are typical in the life of a GW student who is not interested in politics.

I’ve decided to compile a list of my previous actions that seem to have sparked the most controversy for those around me:

• Asking which party is on the left and which is on the right of the political spectrum. In my defense, they don’t teach you a cool way to remember this in elementary school, like forming an “L” with both of your hands and seeing which one looks more conservative.

• Finding a Dictionary.com search for the word “caucus” in my recent Internet browsing history. I wish I could say it was a Thesaurus.com search, but it was not.

• Commenting on how the Capitol looks like a boob.

• I think you know how I feel about the Washington Monument.

• Referring to Capitol Hill as “that area where Mexico is.” I guess it is sad that I find rounds of free tequila shots at a Mexican restaurant more memorable than the home of the U.S. Congress.

• Spelling “Barack” with two “R’s.” It only happened once on an in-class essay, and it was embarassing embarrassing.

• Laughing every time someone brings up Deep Throat. I personally believe this is the most understandable of my transgressions.

• Asking where the vice president lives. But actually, where he at?

I often compare my lack of political knowledge to how many people say they like every music genre except country. I may not be the most informed about the economy or this year’s election, but there are plenty of other conversation topics I’d be more than willing to light up a cigar over.

So before you judge me for asking you where the Korean War was fought, just know that you don’t have to be a political genius to go to this school. Some of us just chose GW because we think the cherry blossoms are pretty.