“For in the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.”
At the Michigan Legacy Art Park, one piece particularly caught my eye.
A marble statue, partially broken, with inscribed words represented the brokenness of the world.
It wasn’t until Wednesday evening that this particular quote really resonated with me. It was the last class period of my Political Science class and our professor was answering questions about his expectations on our final paper. He put it quite simply: it’s our education. He could care less if we botched our volunteer hours and made up a bunch of phony experiences. The point of his course is to learn hands-on. If you didn’t DO the hands-on work, then you wasted a lot of money paying for a grade that could have diversified your life experiences and taught you valuable lessons. This brought me back to the quote on the structure at the park.
What are we conserving? Are we really conserving what we love? Or at least, do your activities conserve what YOU love? Whose expectations are you living up to? If they aren’t your own, you’re going to be pretty disappointed when it’s over.
College, and past college, LIFE, is a place to grow; A place to learn what and who you love; A place to step out and explore anything you want at all. Personally, sometimes I get wrapped up in my requirements. Do I need that class for my major??? I don’t want to ask if I need to do something to fulfill someone else’s standard. I want to take a class because I’m interested in what I’m learning.
My favorite question of all time came when I took a life assessment. They asked for your personal goals, your dreams, and the things that you’d like to accomplish in your life to gain self-fulfillment. The second to last sentence asked you to simply reread what you had written and introspectively reflect upon what your desires were.
The last question:
Why aren’t you doing those things now?
I challenge you, especially in the next couple of weeks while here we are taking exams, maybe you are preparing to apply to college, or your searching for the school that you’ll be able to call home. Sit down with yourself and ask:
Will _______ allow me to be who I am? To accomplish my dreams?
Ok, I’m stepping off my soapbox now.
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