On one of the first days of class, my sociology professor asked us a question: why did you enroll in college? While it seemed like the most simple question I couldn’t help but ponder it. It’s been a little over a month and a half, but the question still lingers in my mind, why did I enroll in college?
At first it seemed so obvious to me: I enrolled because I wanted to become a nurse. I wanted to be on the front lines and make sure I was able to touch the life of at least one person, and make sure they got the help and kindness they deserved. I knew college was the only way I was going to be able to accomplish this goal. But as he kept speaking I realized it wasn’t as simple as that. The reasons others had said stuck with me, and I couldn’t understand why.
“I enrolled in college because I felt like it was the only way to make my parents proud”
“I enrolled in college because I didn’t have any other choices”
“I enrolled in college because I wanted to make money and be able to provide for my family in the future”
“I enrolled in college to be a part of something bigger than myself”.
As our TA kept listing off reasons, I realized how important perspective was. Everything is based on perspective. EVERYTHING. Nothing is ever just black and white in life.
Perspective helps to get you to understand things in a different light and opens up the path for a whole lot more understanding and tolerance. After acknowledging the thoughts and actions of others in a new perspective it’s almost hard to get upset at anyone, because you never know why they might have done something that could have upset you.
It’s fear of the unknown and the assumptions we make of others that poison our soul and tarnish our character. I think the easiest way to go about life is to realize that life goes on whether we’re ready for it or not. We have no control over what comes and goes, but our actions and the way we choose to respond to events in our life is what makes all the difference. We have to take everything that comes into our lives and just accept it for what it is. There’s no denying that life is a rollercoaster but that’s simply how it is for everyone, and once you surrender yourself to whatever will come and go you have more time to appreciate the life that you do have, rather than looking down on yourself when you have no power over what does happen. There’s no right journey in life and once we come to realize this we open up to the world around us.
“I enrolled in college to be a part of something bigger than myself”
Bigger than myself. There it was, my answer. College isn’t always about meeting new people just to meet them, but to also better yourself in ways that you wouldn’t be able to if you hadn’t opened your eyes to other people and their experiences and perspectives.