What am I here for?

A post by Annica Redmond (ARC Consultant)

“What am I here for?”

It’s one of few questions that plagues freshmen, seniors and everyone in between fairly equally. The reasons for asking change, but the question remains the same.

For freshmen, it’s eight more weeks (plus three more years) of hoops to jump through. It’s Gen-Eds you didn’t choose, details you’ll never use and assignments no one’s going to read again. Not to mention the cost: who-knows-how-much debt at the end, all for a piece of paper that may or may not guarantee the job you need to let you shine, using your God-given talent to earn a paycheck and change the world.

For seniors, it’s the realization that your GPA is solid (or will at least get you to commencement) and skimping on homework to take on that internship or those extra shifts will be just as good for your resume anyway. It’s reflecting on late nights with roommates and noticing they meant more to you than any time spent in class. It’s that nagging feeling that these eight (or nine or ten) semesters might not have prepared you in the foolproof way you hoped, so it might not hurt to start expending your energies elsewhere.

What am I here for? In the throes of the stresses that college life brings, it can be easy to forget the answer.

But that’s why it’s so important to have an answer, for the short term and long. When the pain sets in strong, knowing its purpose is what’s going to get you through.

The question first hit me four weeks into my first semester. I remember being in the gym on the treadmill, trying to determine if I was really cut out for this academia thing after all. I’d been up until at least 1:00 in the morning (a novelty at the time) on a regular basis, trying to get through my homework. The assignments in and of themselves weren’t terrible, but the amount seemed overwhelming, to the point that I felt guilty whenever I was doing anything not directly related to my 15 credits.

I’m now two months away from the completion of my undergraduate career, and those feelings of guilt and frustration came back to haunt me every. single. semester. I’m not going to miss them. But I will miss the boost that comes from realizing they’re unfounded, they’re temporary, and they can be dealt and done away with well.

If it’s still early in the game, and classes are feeling like a chore, remember what a liberal arts education is for. (It’s to make you a sharper thinker and well-rounded individual, in case you need a reminder. And sharp-thinking, well-rounded individuals get gainfully employed, in case you’ve forgotten that too.) Classes that aren’t in your field can be made less frustrating if you focus on what is useful. Keep track of things you find interesting. Look for ideas that cross over into other courses. And if all else fails, know that what you’re learning now will make you amazing at trivia.

If graduation is on the horizon and the thought of writing one more three- to four-page paper makes you feel like your head is going to explode, take a deep breath and think back on all you have done and have learned during your time in undergrad. Sure, on a large scale, those assignments may not have “gone” anywhere. But the time you put into them and the skills you developed through them are going to matter. In fact, they already matter. Even the most tedious assignment or trivial Gen-Ed has added to your repertoire as a graduate-to-be. Use that as motivation to power through these last few tasks.

What am I here for? To be educated, to be challenged, to gain skills and knowledge that make you a stronger student, employee, and person. The question never goes away, but neither do the answers. So call them back up as often as you need to, and make the most of the time you have left, whatever that may be.