Attempt two. Little Help?
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 2:30 pm
“How is school going? What are you studying?” I had come to expect questions like these when returning home from college, and honestly, I hated it. I did not avoid this question because I was doing poorly or because I was unhappy with what I was studying. The real problem was that most people were not quite sure what to make of a B.S. degree in political science, and for the first year of my undergraduate studies, I tended to share these views.
For a long time, I questioned the usefulness of my course work. Law had become an interest of mine after a high school business law class, so I knew that I wanted to attend law school coming out of high school. So even though I found politics interesting, I did not think that knowing why the Soviets disbanded the Comintern brought me any closer to my goal of law school. I suppose I just saw undergraduate work as a necessary hoop to jump through on my way to law school. For me, this was a disheartening thought that caused me to gain a slight disinterest for my schooling.
Salvation came to me in a sidetracked professor’s lecture. While discussing the forces that influenced American political movements, a somewhat off topic question arose. Someone had commented on how their degree lacked utility. I was intrigued by the comment because I held the same concerns. My professor stopped class to address this student’s apprehension. He explained to us that a liberal arts degree is not vocational in the sense that we will learn information that will be applied to a career, but that we are becoming thinkers. He believed that one should spend their undergraduate career exercising their brain while building logical and reasoning skills. This explanation of my education truly resonated with me. I realized that I was not just jumping through hoops on my way to law school; I was training myself, so when I got to law school I would be ready for it.
This realization not only brought validity to my education, but also altered how I approached it. I decided that if I was going to exercise my thinking skills, then I would try to introduce myself to as many different kinds of thought as possible. As a result, I added a second major in philosophy and two minors; one in history and one in international studies. I greatly believe that this additional course work was extremely beneficial. I believe that my intellectual, logical, and discursive abilities have grown significantly over the last three and a half years.
I began to study philosophy and found that law was not just an interest of mine, but what I consider to be a noble institution symbolized by dignified work. Over the last several years, my studies in philosophy have caused me to think about what is important to me and what makes life significant. For me, the most important aspect of live is free will. Free will gives meaning to life as each person is in control of their own decisions. People’s control over their actions is a great power, and societal order only comes when the majority of people use this power responsibly. I see law as something to encourage people to use this power responsibly. For me, there is no greater work than working to uphold the law and I wouldn’t want to spend my life doing anything else. Because of my undergraduate studies, my interest in law has become a passion.
My undergraduate studies were extremely important to me. I believe that they allowed me to flourish intellectually and grow as a person. They also equipped me with the tools to excel in the future, as well as the zeal to stay driven while I achieve my goals.
For a long time, I questioned the usefulness of my course work. Law had become an interest of mine after a high school business law class, so I knew that I wanted to attend law school coming out of high school. So even though I found politics interesting, I did not think that knowing why the Soviets disbanded the Comintern brought me any closer to my goal of law school. I suppose I just saw undergraduate work as a necessary hoop to jump through on my way to law school. For me, this was a disheartening thought that caused me to gain a slight disinterest for my schooling.
Salvation came to me in a sidetracked professor’s lecture. While discussing the forces that influenced American political movements, a somewhat off topic question arose. Someone had commented on how their degree lacked utility. I was intrigued by the comment because I held the same concerns. My professor stopped class to address this student’s apprehension. He explained to us that a liberal arts degree is not vocational in the sense that we will learn information that will be applied to a career, but that we are becoming thinkers. He believed that one should spend their undergraduate career exercising their brain while building logical and reasoning skills. This explanation of my education truly resonated with me. I realized that I was not just jumping through hoops on my way to law school; I was training myself, so when I got to law school I would be ready for it.
This realization not only brought validity to my education, but also altered how I approached it. I decided that if I was going to exercise my thinking skills, then I would try to introduce myself to as many different kinds of thought as possible. As a result, I added a second major in philosophy and two minors; one in history and one in international studies. I greatly believe that this additional course work was extremely beneficial. I believe that my intellectual, logical, and discursive abilities have grown significantly over the last three and a half years.
I began to study philosophy and found that law was not just an interest of mine, but what I consider to be a noble institution symbolized by dignified work. Over the last several years, my studies in philosophy have caused me to think about what is important to me and what makes life significant. For me, the most important aspect of live is free will. Free will gives meaning to life as each person is in control of their own decisions. People’s control over their actions is a great power, and societal order only comes when the majority of people use this power responsibly. I see law as something to encourage people to use this power responsibly. For me, there is no greater work than working to uphold the law and I wouldn’t want to spend my life doing anything else. Because of my undergraduate studies, my interest in law has become a passion.
My undergraduate studies were extremely important to me. I believe that they allowed me to flourish intellectually and grow as a person. They also equipped me with the tools to excel in the future, as well as the zeal to stay driven while I achieve my goals.