Now That You're Here, Stay Awake

The list of things you can do at Harvard is too long and intimidating to be repeated here. Besides, you will probably hear it all during the student group fair. The list of things that Harvard students have already done is even worse for your ego because it make you aware of all the things you will not do at Harvard.

Given these depressing facts, it might be tempting to give up on college altogether and start an Internet company. Why an Internet company? You're at Harvard--the answer to that question should be self-evident.

Trust me, I have been tempted, especially since my brother is currently worth a cool $800,000 thanks to his entrepreneurial efforts. Especially since that amount of money could pay for my Harvard education at least six times over. It is enough to make even me, someone without even the wherewithal to create my own Web page, be tempted to learn what IPO means.

Lest some of you are already typing furiously in Java or C++, one word of caution--this editorial is not meant to convince you to give up your Harvard education. On the contrary, despite the urge to pack up and move to Silicon Valley and sunshine, there are several compelling reasons to stay right here.

First and foremost is the fact that while my brother may be buying leather jackets and cell phones right now, he cannot buy himself a college education, even if it has a sticker price. And that education is not just a debt that will begin accruing interest as soon as I graduate, it is also an investment. As Harvard economist Caroline Hoxby can tell you, my education's yield will far exceed the initial cost. If you have not taken Social Analysis 10, "The Principles of Economics," that means that I will probably earn back the amount of money I spent (or that my parents spent) on my education in my lifetime. In fact, I will probably earn quite a bit more than that. Enough, perhaps, to send my own child to an outrageously expensive college.

Those students who are leaving college in droves to join Internet start-ups will (hopefully) find themselves returning in a few years to complete their degrees. That is because life is not about money. There, I've said it. Even in the Bay Area where I live, where 65 new millionaires are made everyday, life is not about money.

I can tell that despite my protestations several of my readers have already dropped the paper and caught the next flight to Palo Alto. That's okay, I don't mind. Those who have stuck with me this far are obviously the people who agree that life is not about money.

In fact, life is about learning and there's nowhere in the nation you can find more of it than here. It is true that experiences other than college can afford tremendous opportunities for learning. One can also learn by starting one's own Internet company. But there is something unique about this particular learning environment, and it's not just the number of books in the libraries.

It's also not something you'll find by taking the Crimson Key tour or joining every club at the activities fair. It might catch you off-guard one night walking across the Yard late at night, or perhaps as you sit in the library studying for the 18th hour for your exam the next morning.

Harvard is more than the sum of its parts, it is a spirit of endeavor, challenge and intellectual breakthrough.

A few weeks ago there was an article "Harvard and Heroin" written by a Harvard grad, Seth Mnookin on www.salon.com. Though he didn't become addicted to heroin until after Harvard he talks of being drunk and high on marijuana for three out of his four years in college. Seth was eventually cured of his addiction, but as a student I was saddened that he had spent the majority of his time here passed out in his dorm room.

Unfortunately, it is perfectly possible to get good grades and graduate without having learned much of anything, and you don't even have to be an alcoholic or drug addict in order for it to happen. To ignore the Harvard experience, burying yourself in books, boyfriends (or girlfriends) or even (God forbid!) extracurriculars can occur without the use of outside agents.

This is your first year and it is intimidating, especially when you hear the lists of things you can do here, or the lists of things that other Harvard students have done. Thanks to a member of the Class of 2003, your classmates may have intimidated you even before you arrived.

I wouldn't listen to all of that. I said earlier that life isn't about money, and that life is about learning. So eat in every dining hall, meet your classmates, pay attention in the classes and in general soak up the atmosphere. You are a dry sponge--it is not necessary to save the world just yet, or dominate it either.

In fact, this is the only time in your life where you will not be challenged to account for your doings and goings-on simply because you are here. You are doing something important by coming here, something that will enrich your life tenfold through the classes you take, the people you meet and the relationships you forge.

If you could, you would probably try to live up to some idea of what the Harvard student is or does. Some of your classmates are already on that path. But if you refuse to be intimidated by the lists of extracurricular activities and awards that others will regale you with, you will find those things here that are meaningful to you.

And hopefully, unlike Seth Mnookin, you will spend the next four years here awake, alert and learning.

Meredith B. Osborn '02, a Crimson editor, is a social studies concentrator in Leverett House.