By Emily Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief
There is only one person who can answer that question: you.
Upon walking into the Stern College for Women halls as an innocent first-year student, I expected to meet many other students eager to make the most of their college years. I expected to be supported by an administration whose sole focus was helping its students learn and grow in their academic endeavors. Everyone says to make the most of your college years because you only get to live them once. Yet, when I got to YU, I found myself severely disappointed.
Instead, I walked into a school largely filled with individuals who were going through the motions. I was met with a student body of whom a majority are bent on spending as little time as possible in this institution, who rush home at the ‘sound of the bell’ Thursday evenings and wouldn’t dare step foot back in YU until Monday morning. I was startled to find an administration whom a majority of the time seemed solely concerned with their own personal agenda rather than that of their students.
It seemed as though everyone was just walking through life, letting these days pass them by and wishing they would end before they even began. Yet, in order to find out why you are here, it is just a matter of if you are willing to ask youself this question in the first place.
Then, it seems as though the obvious must be asked: why is it that you decided to attend YU? After reflecting on my experience as a first year student, I decided that I had to reevaluate too, wondering why this community was so important to me that I still decided to remain a part of it two years later.
I can undoubtedly say that I am thankful that I decided to attend YU for one very simple reason; at YU, I found my greatest passion in life, which gives me a sense of purpose: journalism. Although I did not originally come to YU for that very reason, through journalism, I have found my connection to the broader YU community.
Now, even with my newfound purpose, there is no question that being a part of YU still comes with its struggles. As a student, balancing a dual curriculum, participating in multiple extracurricular activities, and maintaining one’s spiritual and social life as well as one’s personal well being, can be exhausting and draining. There is also the burden of the fact that no matter how hard we sometimes try to positively change this institution, it seems as though the administration continuously ignores the concerns of those who are personally affected by every decision that they make: the students.
At the same time, as a faculty member, the hardship of addressing the needs of the entire student body is not an easy endeavor. Busy schedules and the desire to personally serve each and every one of the thousands of students in this institution is extremely difficult to balance.
However, no matter the part that one plays in the larger YU community, don’t let these hardships overshadow the need to find a purpose within it. As students, don’t let your college days turn into a checklist of tasks that must be crossed off a piece of paper. As an administrator, don’t let the desire to make a quick decision overshadow the importance of doing what is best for the students. Choose to care about the community you chose to be a part of.
Maybe the reason as to why you are here is more prominent than it seems, yet is hard to discover because it is not always found in the place we expect it to be.
The reason can be found in the small moments, like sitting and laughing with friends in the library after a long day of classes; forgetting about all the hardships while spending time in the caf eating dinner with others; when walking through New York City with a friend and disregarding notifications on your phone. For it is in moments like these where I have come to realize that there is more to the reason as to why I decided to attend YU than I initially thought.
Therefore, I am thankful that I found journalism during my time in YU because it is the means through which I strive to make YU a better place too. It is through these small moments that I realized why YU matters to me, and why I want to put in effort to make it a better place.
Using your passions and taking the time to improve YU in your own unique way is how you can show that you care. For it is only when you begin to ask yourself the question “why are you here?” that you will ultimately be able to discover the reason as to why.
No, I am not still in YU today for the same reason I clicked the ‘accept admissions’ button three years ago. Rather, I found meaning in these small moments, where I was able to truly get to know the voices of each and every one of the students the YU Observer aims to amplify, who are the sole reason why I am still in YU.
Photo Caption: The Stern College for Women building on the YU Beren campus
Photo Credit: The YU Observer