Why We Are Here
Why are we here? Each of us now in London – we each have our own reasons why we’ve chosen to pursue graduate studies, taking a precious year or more out of our lives. As I learn more about my friends in school and in the hall, I begin also to understand the different motivations behind their move here. And in so doing, it’s given me an opportunity to reflect as well on why and how I’ve come to find myself here right now.
It’s never an easy decision to make, is it? It’s hardly self-evident. No one comes to London purely because of the inherent attractions that the city offers, contrary to the impressions this blog might have conveyed. The quest for further studies is, ostensibly, always the main reason. And it should rightly be so. But frequently, it’s also fraught with so many other factors. For rarely is the decision to come here entirely one dimensional.
We're all in London by choice as much as by circumstance. We go through four years of undergraduate studies almost as a matter of routine, for that’s what expected of us. A few proceed then to work. It’s a very conventional route so many of us take. It’s not complicated.
Graduate school, in comparison, is different. Coming to graduate school means that you’ve taken a conscious decision to stay within or return to academic life, in the expectation of something further. It is a decision freely made, consciously taken. You want something more. You feel, perhaps, that what you had back then was just not good enough for yourself and the life you’re looking for.
But are we really clear about what we’re seeking? A year cloistered in studies is costly, and not just in terms of funds depleted and the income forgone. We leave behind family and friends and a familiar life. Some turn away from unsettled issues, lingering concerns, festering problems, even. Some forgo a lucrative salary. Some give up on an existing job. Some need a break from the job they will return to. Some have run away from that which they do not want to face. Some have come here, and have found disappointment. Some don’t really know, even now, why they are here. And neither do they know what’s next.
So, once again, why are we here? Our lives now intersect, but what’s conspired to bring all of us together at this moment? There are surely reasons personal, just as there are reasons professional. And there are both positive and negative motives. We may have certain ideas, but we press on nonetheless, grappling for clarity. The fortunate few sit there content with certainty. Many others remain hesitant, and the search for meaning continues. Perhaps, when we look back one day to this one year here, the answers will become evident, finally.
It’s never an easy decision to make, is it? It’s hardly self-evident. No one comes to London purely because of the inherent attractions that the city offers, contrary to the impressions this blog might have conveyed. The quest for further studies is, ostensibly, always the main reason. And it should rightly be so. But frequently, it’s also fraught with so many other factors. For rarely is the decision to come here entirely one dimensional.
We're all in London by choice as much as by circumstance. We go through four years of undergraduate studies almost as a matter of routine, for that’s what expected of us. A few proceed then to work. It’s a very conventional route so many of us take. It’s not complicated.
Graduate school, in comparison, is different. Coming to graduate school means that you’ve taken a conscious decision to stay within or return to academic life, in the expectation of something further. It is a decision freely made, consciously taken. You want something more. You feel, perhaps, that what you had back then was just not good enough for yourself and the life you’re looking for.
But are we really clear about what we’re seeking? A year cloistered in studies is costly, and not just in terms of funds depleted and the income forgone. We leave behind family and friends and a familiar life. Some turn away from unsettled issues, lingering concerns, festering problems, even. Some forgo a lucrative salary. Some give up on an existing job. Some need a break from the job they will return to. Some have run away from that which they do not want to face. Some have come here, and have found disappointment. Some don’t really know, even now, why they are here. And neither do they know what’s next.
So, once again, why are we here? Our lives now intersect, but what’s conspired to bring all of us together at this moment? There are surely reasons personal, just as there are reasons professional. And there are both positive and negative motives. We may have certain ideas, but we press on nonetheless, grappling for clarity. The fortunate few sit there content with certainty. Many others remain hesitant, and the search for meaning continues. Perhaps, when we look back one day to this one year here, the answers will become evident, finally.
1 Comments:
At once, my reasons for being here seem to have both flourished and taken on a new meaning. A warm reflection of our friendship.
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