Being at UNC, I have found that I am surrounded by contributors to society. People who came into the school as freshman with goals of solving problems in foreign countries or teaching children with disabilities or taking their athletic abilities to the professional level. It's amazing to walk on campus and see just how many organizations and events that students can take part in just outside their dorm rooms.
Tonight I went on a walk with my dad and my rabbit-tracking dog and we talked for a while about graduate schools. As I've mentioned before, the question of "Well, what are you going to do with your life?" has come up one too many times recently. I thought I knew. I think I know. I have an idea of what I want to do.
At dinner tonight, someone saw my dad and commented to the person she was eating with, "Oh, that's Jim from Human Resources at the hospital". And I brought it up at dinner later because as I've gotten older and began experiencing bits and pieces of the outside "real" world, it's become more apparent that your job is what defines you in our culture. You are your job. Your job is your contribution to society.
In our most reflective moments, each of us wants to make a difference- a contribution. We want to be a part of something meaningful and something we have a passion for. And it's in these parts of our lives and these times of figuring out the next step in life that makes you have these reflective moments more often.
We spend every day searching for meaning for our lives. Meaning that is often right under our nose.
Being in NYC this summer, I was surrounded by business men (and women) who I think (and I hope) were searching for this same meaning. They ultimately wanted to succeed in their jobs or to prove something (anything, really) to others and to themselves. And I think this mentality kind of turned me away from the city. I saw it time and time again. Ultimately, it's not you alone working for your successes. There are always multiple people rooting for you to succeed and it is with their help, that you do so. It's the mothers and fathers at the basketball games cheering you on even if you score in the wrong goal. It's the grandmother who never forgets to send you that birthday card. It's that sister that always affectionately calls you "sissy" to show that she loves you "lots and lots". And it's that friend who is always beside you reminding you of that time you called your professor "an idiot" out loud and he still gave you an 'A'.
Tonight I was reading my favorite blogger's post about friendship and it kind of occurred to me. I can make a contribution to society by being a good friend. I can make a contribution by fighting for what I believe in, whether it be politics or autism or anything really. I can make a contribution by making someone else's day better or listening to them talk about their problems. I can make a career out of multiple little contributions.
It's our senior year, of course, and we're all being asked the same question. What will you do next year?
But why should what you do next year necessarily change from what you do this year? Your career does not define you. You can't measure success with money, or promotions, or job titles.
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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