Freedom To... Freedom From
/As students chew on their cuticles waiting for acceptance or rejection letters and as their Junior peers wait in the wings knowing it will soon be their turn, I urge both sets to consider this momentous milestone as both grand but also less critical than social pressure dictates. Applying to college, getting accepted to your ‘dream’ college and finally deciding on the right college with sound mind and heart is a draining process with tons of noise which could, if not careful, drown out your inner voice. Make sure you are actively participating in all steps of the process.
Our crossroads season, April – July, reminds me of the contrasting personal liberties ideology, I believe coined by Immanuel Kant, but don’t quote me. Recently I came across the phrase twice. In a more cynical deployment in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and then in an inspiring podcast, Shane Parrish’s The Knowledge Project, “Naval Ravikant on Reading, Happiness, Systems of Decision Making, Habits, Radical Honesty”. It’s a two hour listen which I did in three sittings but completely worth it. (Ravikant is CEO and co-founder of Angel’s List and simply put an individual who seems to have the life balance thing down.)
Back to Freedom To…Freedom From – students, as you make your choices, think about what you want to do with your newfound freedom, who you want to be in college, how you want to grow and evolve, and then what you want freedom from…to not do, to get away from, to change…knowing both sets can have positive and negative consequences. Happy Waiting!
