Dear Seniors,
Why do we even do anything anymore? This is the biggest question I have found myself pondering at while staring at a blank wall with nothing else to do.
Who would have thought this is what I would be doing just two weeks away from graduation?
See, no matter our differences, we all have been working towards the same goal. We’ve dreamed of throwing our hats into the air together, asking that amazing person out to be our prom date, having a crazy day at Universal.
Many of us spent the past 4 years scheming ideas and putting tremendous amounts of time and effort into achieving our ideal future. That’s what I thought we were working for. Now we find ourselves in an eerie position, where the results we expected are no longer a reality. While we spent our lives carefully choosing our own pattern, we must face that there are no more patterns. No rewards. No traditions. There is only us and our future, whatever that may look like.
So, what are we working for if we don’t know what the result will be? Why do students wake up early to make sure they find and follow their teacher’s instructions? I especially ask myself why are we putting time and energy into finding innovative ways of keeping our clubs and initiatives alive through social media despite their level of difficulty and lack of reward? I think that the answer is that it’s just who we are. Think about it: What did we do when we were stripped of all incentives and left in our houses with no extreme consequences for slacking off? If you asked me a few months ago, I would have probably guessed we would do nothing. But as seen, the has opposite was true: We pushed forward until the end. We didn’t blame anyone, but rather accepted the facts of reality and adapted to them like few generations have done before.
While we didn’t produce this situation, we did not let ourselves become a product of it either, and maybe that’s what the world needs from us at the moment. There are those with and without the option of adapting. Fortunately for us, we have the option, willingness, ability, and resolve to encounter all of the challenges that lie ahead. Hence, to answer my question, we do what we do because it’s what brings us joy and satisfaction. While we may not receive the rewards we expected for our work, we now know that it’s our work that really mattered.
Our efforts during the last four years will pay off, if not now, then soon. Our willingness to face and adapt to a new reality is paying off right now by letting us finish our last year with the same vigor and self-fulfillment we felt during our first. Entering a world of uncertainty, our passion and resilience will prove two of the few things certain. That’s what will move us forward.
Regards,
David Brothers.