Shoot for the stars, but smell the roses too

The stars came out on Monday night. Thousands of them ripped through the sky, leaving trails of gaseous beauty for us to gawk at. And as I sat watching the cloud coverage get ripped apart from my room in 1942 Hall, my thoughts were eclipsed by the irony that accompanied the night.

Think about it. All us Princetonians, striving for the best, shooting for the stars . . . there we were, huddled beneath blankets, looking at the very stars we've been shooting for. The image of some stressed-out double major reaching his hand up to trace the outline of one of those orbs . . . it was funny to see.

But then I got to thinking. Was it really all that funny — our constant need to look to the future. What about all of the career weeks and the summer internships and the job interviews? If we are constantly "shooting for the stars," do we really ever have time to "stop and smell the roses"?

I've often seen students validate hectic workloads and sleepless nights by saying, "Yeah, this is hard, but in then end, I'm going to have one awesome internship or job or grad school application." Or how about those of us (myself included) who have opted to take a gut class just because we'll be able to pull a good grade rather than sticking it out in some class that truly interests us? After all, Morgan Stanley might skip over your resume if your GPA drops below the 3.5 they've come to embrace.

That isn't to say that we shouldn't try to do our best. In fact, I think that trying hard may be the one uniting factor between all Princetonians. After all, it did take most of us quite a bit of effort just to get here. But at some point, you have to ask yourself when living for what comes next starts to leave you unsatisfied with the present.

Some say that college life is only a preparation for the rest of our lives. So what? Do all that you can in college to ensure a high-paying job come graduation time? Be cutthroat in precepts, set the curve on midterms, shoot for the stars? Far too often, I think that students here equate a successful life with a financially successful life. The truth is, the two couldn't be more detached. Seeing hordes of people flock to job information sessions and reading the gazillion daily emails that read, "Find out about internships with (insert name here) today at (insert time here)" disgust me. Sure, it's great to think about our futures, and it's great to dream about our careers. But when college becomes merely a tool to get us some high-paying job, something has gone drastically wrong. That "something" is our reason for being here. The last time I checked, that purpose was to learn.

Shooting for the stars is great. But when looking to the future changes your purpose for pursuing a higher education, and when lofty dreams of dollar bills decide your major for you — I guess that's when the true purpose of college becomes just another star you'll never quite grasp.