THE INDIVIDUAL who penned the aphorism, "It's not the destination that counts, it's the journey" had no connection with the real world. The destination, in fact, matters a great deal. It is often the difference between choosing a potentially fulfilling career or a vacuous, insipid, but well-paid existence. Occasionally, it is the choice between good, evil and boredom. The destination also can include deciding whether to write for a well-regarded, daily university newspaper.
When folks choose their destinations over the next few months or years, I want to offer old-man advice on two matters: passion and perspective.
First, choose goals for which you will exhibit a passion. By its nature, writing a weekly op-ed forces an author to get upset about something every seven days. Passion, however, does not have to carry with it anger or outward excitement. Instead, passion simply reflects one's intense interest in some activity, philosophy or goal. The world has plenty of flaws and gaps that should merit an energetic response. Thousands of innocent individuals die daily for no particular reason -- they're hungry, a government does not like their political views, a mob doesn't like their gender and the like. C.S. Lewis, in The Screwtape Letters, noted, "The safest road to Hell is the gradual one," the one most people do not recognize or consciously choose to ignore. We have an obligation to improve (if only slightly) an imperfect world.
Secondly, in choosing a passionate destination, remember to keep that goal in the correct perspective, in relation to one's other relationships and goals. Please try the following: Write out, on a sheet of paper, the people, pets, relationships, etc. that matter. Every day, consider whether the day's activities have greater importance than the people on that list.
Work -- the kind that lurks in "the real world" -- occupies over half of one's waking hours. Passionate pet projects can take up even more time. When we pursue selfish goals, attempt to make the world a better place or just try to attend to daily obligations, we quite often may ignore the people who matter the most to us. This point may sound like something from a bad Sunday school lesson. However, relationships and individuals about whom we care do not simply remain in stasis because a competing activity has great importance to us. Like anything else, they require attention and time. If they matter to us, they deserve such attention.
For approximately two years, the people who run this paper have kindly allowed me to write a weekly screed about, well, whatever. I thank them for their patience in allowing some discretion and for not (personally) insulting my writing style. As I have finally realized that 25-year-old college graduates should not obsess about paper mache cherubs and chocolate, I would like to apologize to anyone associated with Valentine's Day. My parents deserve great thanks for their general (often unappreciated) support. I thank Robert Brill for his lessons regarding split infinitives and comma faults. Finally, thanks to all those friends with whom I had the pleasure of spending time these past three years. I truly enjoyed the law school experience and wish it -- and the Stafford loans -- would continue indefinitely into the future.
(Seth Wood was a 2000-2002 opinion columnist.)
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