Dear readers,

I struggled on what to write about for this entry. I suppose I languished over composing something that would be revelatory and would impart a wisdom beyond my 22 years. Alas, that might not be the case this time; however, I do have something that I would like for everyone to reflect upon. It is something that all of us students can relate to: studying.

In the past year I have begun graduate school, pursing a degree in foreign languages. Not until this year did I start thinking about how my studies would serve the world in which I live. For many of us who may lack a clear orientation in life it can be a difficult question to answer. There are exceptions of course: those who know that they want to become a doctor, a lawyer, a social worker, etc. They have the trajectory of their lives mapped out and are intimately aware of the alignment of their profession and vocation. That is, they know how their career, how their studies, how the frame of their lives will be informed by their faith and how the manifestation of that faith in their professions will serve the world and humanity. While these exceptions exist, it has been my experience, personally and relationally, that this is generally not the case for our generation of college students. Typically, one is mired in a never-ending process of life-planning and self-reflection on what one wants to do and how one wants to go about it.

This process of life-planning is my point of departure to what I really wish to talk about. I encourage you that within your introspective syllogism you interrogate the question: “How will my studies serve the world?” More specifically to the day-to-day lives of students: “How will writing this History paper serve the world?” “How will this group project in statistics serve the world?” And the list can go on and on. It can be difficult to see the importance of seemingly innocuous assignments in long-term service of the world and humankind. For me personally, it feels as though, while important to me, my studies are being conducted in an ivory-tower whose importance will never be known or felt by the rest of the world. My ultimate goal is a terminal degree and a tenure track position at a university. For some this may mean becoming even more thoroughly embedded in the aforementioned ivory-tower. But I encourage you all as I encouraged myself to take a closer look at how the walls of that tower can be porous. This is where the intersection of my faith and my studies plays a role. While it may not be completely evident to some and even to myself at this juncture; our role as students and our studies have a very high purpose. Take the time to examine that purpose, because it is there. One doesn’t necessarily have to be “among the people” to feel that importance or to feel the palpable realities of need in this world and how our studying can fulfill those needs. Knowledge is our weapon in this struggle. While I regret the allusion of going to battle, but when we arm ourselves with that knowledge through laborious papers and interminable all-nighters the importance of that knowledge will become self-evident.

Sincerely,

Jason Bolton