As the time for registering for classes approaches, we are all forced to think about what we want our second semesters to look like. What questions do we want addressed? What disciplines do we want to explore? And, most of all, what will give us the most skills to use in “the real world”?
Being in a liberal arts school allows us to take classes in a variety of disciplines which, while giving us a broader understanding of the world, may sometimes leave us feeling a bit directionless. And so I would like to discuss a difficulty that many at Wesleyan face about our “direction.” We are at college to learn how to improve the world, so how do we actually go about doing that? Who are we really trying to help and how are we supposed to help “them”?
We have been brought up believing that nothing is impossible, that we have the power to do anything we set our minds to, and that each and every one of us is special. All those notions combined make us feel responsible for creating “world peace,” an idea that we scoff at intellectually but sentimentally wish was true and plausible. We see movies about poverty and starvation, exploitation and abuse that occur in every country in the world—so where do we start?
I, for one, have run away from this problem by studying theory. I can claim to be “working on the problem” from a step away, expecting that my theory will eventually translate into particularized action within real nations. While I find it challenging to abandon this coping strategy, I recognize its shortcomings. If I am to credibly develop any ideas, they must be studied in particular contexts—not just as thoughts. They must be concretized in regional politics, economics, and cultures so as to speak to any real-world problems.
But this necessitates commitment. I am required to delve into a particular region in order to more fully understand the situation on the ground so that I can make substantial positive change. But how do I decide? (As you can tell, I have arrived at the exact same question that I was trying to avoid.)
It seems to me that, to start off, we need to focus on the people we care about. We can’t help people if we don’t care about them (or at least agree with the values they represent). Maybe we should think about the community we want to foster for ourselves, and from there think about how to help that community. This becomes more difficult when we identify with a number of individuals and a number of causes, all of which are mutually exclusive and simultaneously require our undivided attention if we expect to have any effect.
While this is much more easily said than done, I think a way we can go about understanding our personal “missions” in the world is by growing (over much time) to understand our characters so that we can recognize our individual strengths and assets. In distinguishing our talents, we can see what makes us different from other people and how we as individuals can do the most good.
The next step is to identify situations that require our individual talents so that they can be practically applied. It may appear that we have once again arrived at the original question, but I would argue that, this time, the question about where to use our talents is a bit different. I believe that by focusing on introspection in order to understand our personal “special-ness,” the necessary subsequent actions will become apparent along the way. When we explore what characteristics we most appreciate in ourselves, we also come across what we care about the most (certain things, people, or situations that allow us to most completely develop our favorite characteristics).
We will then desire to put ourselves in situations that will be conducive to the greater flourishing of our most ideal selves which, given that our ultimate aim is to help others, will be situations that will potentially benefit people who need support. We can only continue to help others when we ourselves are satisfied, so the situations in which we work must be fulfilling for us as well. In this way, we do not have to worry about who exactly we are helping—by using out particular skills to improve the conditions of anyone, no matter to what extent he or she is suffering, we are doing the best we can to improve the world.
Cassel is a member of the class of 2013.
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