Students can find life pursuits on campus, overcome apathy
By: John Medaglia
Issue date: 5/26/06 Section: Ed-Op
Originally published: 5/26/06 at 10:04 AM EST
Last update: 5/26/06 at 10:04 AM EST
Originally published: 5/26/06 at 10:04 AM EST
Last update: 5/26/06 at 10:04 AM EST
The people to whom this article might apply probably aren't reading it right now, so congratulations on coming this far. Today, I want to take the time to share with you an approach to life that will only equip you with more ammunition to fend off the demons of day-to-day struggles. You have a beautiful capacity to think and consider the world around you. Your mind is a complex labyrinth of images and perspectives, and your history is comprised of rich experiences, positive and negative, that have helped to determine who you are today. What I'm going to do from here is show you an avenue to better control those experiences and form yourself into more of the person you wish to be. I hope.
Warning: A lot of this article is theoretical.
College is the quintessential time to explore one's self and one's options, or that's what we're told by our mentors. The key word that is often disregarded in this cliched phrase is "explore." I was having a conversation with a colleague of mine recently about how we both want to experience and explore things, and it occurred to me that this does not necessarily mean traveling to Lithuania or even leaving this campus for the most part. What it does involve is pioneering the resources and opportunities that are available to you. You probably experience it fairly frequently in some way - that itch to see something that excites you. That desire to meet someone who sparks your heart and urges you to unleash yourself in ways that make you feel free and beautiful. The compulsion to "get away" and just "forget it all."
When bored, you might be compelled to sit in front of the television. Perhaps you'll go buy a couple kegs and have a hundred people fill your house. Neither of these things is bad in principle, but if they're used as the sole form of entertainment, they'll stagnate as well. You'll keep doing it because it's easy, but you will never really be fulfilled.
Apathy is not negative by itself; however, what generally follows it can be. Without choosing paths and convictions, we lack a system of guidance. Whenever you choose a higher cause, there will be profound effects on health and your future. I'll spare the citations of psychological research, but most people will affirm this statement. In fact, it really doesn't matter what that cause is, as long as you have an interest and belief in it. So this is how you go about finding your mission and in a sense, destroying boredom forever. This is how the scourge of apathy begins to melt away.
Warning: A lot of this article is theoretical.
College is the quintessential time to explore one's self and one's options, or that's what we're told by our mentors. The key word that is often disregarded in this cliched phrase is "explore." I was having a conversation with a colleague of mine recently about how we both want to experience and explore things, and it occurred to me that this does not necessarily mean traveling to Lithuania or even leaving this campus for the most part. What it does involve is pioneering the resources and opportunities that are available to you. You probably experience it fairly frequently in some way - that itch to see something that excites you. That desire to meet someone who sparks your heart and urges you to unleash yourself in ways that make you feel free and beautiful. The compulsion to "get away" and just "forget it all."
When bored, you might be compelled to sit in front of the television. Perhaps you'll go buy a couple kegs and have a hundred people fill your house. Neither of these things is bad in principle, but if they're used as the sole form of entertainment, they'll stagnate as well. You'll keep doing it because it's easy, but you will never really be fulfilled.
Apathy is not negative by itself; however, what generally follows it can be. Without choosing paths and convictions, we lack a system of guidance. Whenever you choose a higher cause, there will be profound effects on health and your future. I'll spare the citations of psychological research, but most people will affirm this statement. In fact, it really doesn't matter what that cause is, as long as you have an interest and belief in it. So this is how you go about finding your mission and in a sense, destroying boredom forever. This is how the scourge of apathy begins to melt away.
