Clark 2.

             appropriate level for an unmotivated eccentric student with an IQ of 149. His English class, however, was an exception. According to one of his professors, "Jim read as much and probably more than any other student in the class. His work was excellent. But everything he read was so completely offbeat.".

             In college, Morrison's writing went even further due to a deeper an more mature mental perspective, sometimes with the help of LSD or other mind-altering substances. Morrison was a living example of a hedonist. He lived on a whim, doing what he wanted whenever he wanted to. Morrison attended St. Petersburg Junior College in the fall of 1961 while living with his grandparents, Paul and Caroline Morrison. Here, Morrison enrolled in general education classes and led a fairly dull life with the exception of a trip to California to see his parents. He and a former house mate, Bryan Gates, hitchhiked across the country paying special attention to location Jack Kerouac mentioned in his book, "On the Road Again." After two years at Florida State University, Morrison enrolled in the motion picture department of UCLA. Morrison was taught by prestigious professors such as Jean Renoir, Joseph Von Sternberg and Stanley Kramer. The combination of the subject matter, the facility, lifestyle and social scene made Morrison feel great because he felt he had found a grove. It was here where Morrison developed friendships which cultured his intellectual eccentricism. A classmate of Morrison's was Ray Manczarek. Later on Morrison and Ray founded the Doors. Incidentally, this was the period when Morrison met his longtime girlfriend, Pam Courson.

             Morrison graduated from UCLA with his degree in theater arts which caused the alteration of his focus from academics to poetry. Poetry had always been a part of his life possessing much of his passion and now he had more time to spend with it. After the formation of the Doors, many of the band's lyrics came directly from Morrison's poetry notebooks.