Just Maybe Do It
Identify Me Not
When I started college, I counted myself as one of the 71 percent of Harvard’s student body that identify as liberal. Back then, I believed in the benefits of government programs and the importance of regulating private interests. As I have grown older and gained more experience, I’ve become skeptical of these narrow commitments and my past tendency to identify as a liberal and Democrat. I have even become skeptical of the identity politics employed by liberals and conservatives that may have led us to elect Donald Trump as our president.
Mark Lilla wrote in the New York Times that this year’s election and its outcome must teach us “that the age of identity liberalism must be brought to an end.” He contends that an odd fixation on diversity has made many progressives aware of little outside their self-defined identity groups. And when one considers the campaign Hillary Clinton ran, in which she called African Americans, LGBTQ persons, Latinos, and women to vote with little mention of the uneducated, males, or whites, it’s of little surprise to Lilla that the fixation on diversity has allowed the latter to come together as an identity group to vote Trump into power. Instead, as Lilla argues, Clinton should have provided a unifying vision that focused on commonalities rather than differences.
All Is Fair in Love and Jobs
From outside the job-seeking process for soon-to-be graduates, I like to imagine Harvard seniors as if they were participating in some dating ritual with jobs instead of people. However, the ritual seems to have gone amiss in setting students up for short-term jobs instead of long-term careers.
As the jobs dating ritual goes, each senior has his or her own taste in an ideal “date.” Everyone puts themselves out there by telling potential suitors about their past experiences and common interests with similar suitors to show that a relationship could work. And when seniors do get pursued, it is with food and gifts—just look at any tech recruiting event for uncanny dating parallels.
Making Harvard Great Again
In my experience, when people think of Harvard, they expect success.
Whenever I tell someone I go to Harvard, that someone imagines me to be on the way to becoming part of a successful elite who have achieved much and acquired power like numerous other Harvard graduates. Or, similarly, when a professor gets to put Harvard on their CV, it’s hard not to believe that they have achieved some success in academia given that Harvard produces the most Nobel laureates in the world.
What You Leave Behind
Whatever you set out to do, you usually justify it by telling yourself or others something along the lines of “I want to make a lasting legacy.” But what exactly does that mean?
It seems to me that when most people talk of legacy, they mean to create some sort of object that would last forever and speak to one’s achievement, like a Roman statue that attested to an emperor’s greatness. However, like many objects of history and great achievement such as the Great Wall of China or the Mona Lisa, there is a tendency for these things to deteriorate into rubble and residue.
The Limits of Liberty
Obviously, being free feels satisfying. But it does not necessarily feel good in a deep sense. Take for example something we all do once we are free from our obligations: watching Netflix.
Unless you were watching a truly fantastic show, satisfying your inner sloth’s desire to watch 12 hours of Netflix might lead to some post-binge regret. You’d certainly have some regret if you chose Netflixing over volunteering for an overnight shift at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter.