I was running down Tuck Mall oblivious to the surroundings, only thinking about how I was late, and then for some inexplicable reason I focused my attention on the hill beyond Tuck and Thayer. It hit me then just how much in the middle of nowhere we are and how this is as close to utopia within the real world as we can get.
I had been feeling sorry for myself for the miserable lack of travel in which I have partaken during my life and hence my deficiency in worldly experience. And I had been angry about evidence I've seen recently indicating how politically-minded and convinced of their own ideas many people at this school are, to the detriment of academics and productive discussion. But that frustration melted away for a minute as I was once again struck by how lucky and privileged we are here. Suddenly the petty bickering and misplaced priorities, everything I find to complain about that don't really matter in the big picture, and the fact I may never escape New Hampshire, all disappeared.
So few of us take enough time to appreciate everything that is right with this place, deciding instead to focus on and stress out about relatively inconsequential issues. But if you take a step back, relax and get some perspective, you realize that, all things considered, this is an amazing place to be able to spend some of the most important years of your life.
Why do I write of such things? I'm not just beating a dead horse, although it does sometimes deserve to be beaten, if for no other reason than to at least justify my own negative experiences to myself. But, being the naive, invincible youngsters that we are, we feel we have all the time in the world at this place. It may not be my senior spring but it is for a quarter of the population here. The seniors I know assure me that before they knew it, four years were over, and now they have to leave behind their consequence-free environment to go on to a world with limited freedom and responsibilities that matter to their livelihoods. So, in short, appreciate the time you have here.
This has become especially pertinent of late, considering the state of the economy and the fact that graduates may no longer be able to take for granted the ability to sell out to corporate America. With so many major employers laying off large percentages of their workers, the investment banks and consulting firms will not consistently be able to absorb every college graduate. The pain of being thrust into the real world, then, is exacerbated by the strong likelihood that regardless of everything you've done at Dartmouth to prove how special you are, you may not get hired at all. Even if you do, you may be one of the first to go in the next layoff. Job security nowadays isn't exactly as cushy as the security provided by classroom walls, fraternity basements and New England hills.
It's easy to remain blissfully ignorant of what's happening outside Dartmouth, thinking that what you hear on the news cannot affect you in your snug little New Hampshire nook. But some level of awareness may help you to prepare just in case everything doesn't go as smoothly as you thought it would. I, for one, have been concerned ever since the economic slowdown started about how it could affect not just my present investments but my future career. I want some of those jobs to be left for me when I graduate!
We tend to think that we're invincible, that everything has a way of working out in the end. We assume that we'll get jobs, and if the economy slows down, it won't matter to us because the middle-aged middle-management types will be the first to go to make room for all the much smarter and more ambitious college grads. But the fact of the matter is that slowdown is more than just a figure of speech. Just a couple of years ago the economy was a huge balloon that was not fully inflated, so more and more was stuffed into it. It popped, and what's rising to take its place is a much smaller balloon already dangerously overinflated. That's about as far as my obviously very scientific thesis goes so I can't predict where the economy will rest. But at least for the time being, it looks like a little more air has to be let out.
Whether or not we keep ourselves updated, there isn't much we can do to make sure that the jobs we're looking for will still be there when we actually need them. You can give yourself qualifications, experiences and grades, and hope that somebody acknowledges you for them when the time is right; you can major in everything and participate in every organization to prepare yourself for any future career; but we can't predict what will happen, and all of the preparations, high hopes and assumptions of inevitable success may not come to immediate fruition. In the meantime, what you can do is enjoy the time you have left here since you'll never be able to have so much fun again. Take time to soak in the surroundings and appreciate what's here before it's gone. Then start panicking.
