Stephen Colbert once said, “Find the courage to decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong, and then expect as much of the world around you. Try to make the world good according to your standards.” (Colbert) This sums up perfectly what any college student learns in their first semester - if they take University Seminar with Megan Swanson. I have absorbed plenty of information throughout this first semester, and I feel that I am adequately prepared to face these next years of my life. Knowing the value of an education and why it is vital to stay true to yourself not only during college but also in life truly helped me figure things out. Michael Sandel discusses the ethics of money. This text showed me why it’s important to consider
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Whether this is in my art or my learning, it is the simple truth. University Seminar has tremendously guided me in taking on a different viewpoint and understanding myself better. As an art major, I am constantly challenging myself. I am always thinking about my next move and how to get there. And, as a person, I detest comfort. If there is a way to be challenged, I will take it with vigor. These next four years are no exception. Thus far, I have not failed myself - every single piece I have made, every single word I have written, I have given my all. Staying within the bounds is too easy. So, when Mark Edmundson discussed the difficulties one will face as they commence their new journey, I could not help but love his words. “The quest at the center of an [liberal arts] education is not a luxury quest; it’s a necessity quest. If you do not undertake it, you risk leading a life of desperation. [...] You risk trying to be someone other than who you are, which, in the long run, is killing.” (Edmundson 59) In summary, Edmundson is stating that to accept the …show more content…
In fact, Michael Sandel discusses both of these combined into one in his article. Sandel discusses the meaning of money. While reading this text, I paused and had a moment of reflection. Sandel’s words made me think about the reason I am in college and the value of my education. Though this was not the intent of his paper, this is what I took from it: My education is worth years of debt. I also looked at this article in a technical way, pondering what will happen when I no longer need to worry about money. Everything is linked back to money. Sandel talks specifically about using one’s money to give gifts to friends. Most of these writings have a way of stating simple truths in such a way that they stick with the reader for a long time. Sandel’s in this article is, “Friendship at its best has a formative educative purpose. To monetize all forms of giving among friends can corrupt friendship by suffusing it with utilitarian norms.” (Sandel 102) While he spices up his writing with words that almost seem another language, Sandel has a point. One cannot monetize their friends. He is saying that using one’s wealth to give friends expensive gifts ruins the value of the friendship. It corrupts the true meaning of why these two people became friends in the first place. While this is not the intent of the person, it does happen. And this is something I need to remember in the future. It does not matter how much money I have, nor how many
Whether this is in my art or my learning, it is the simple truth. University Seminar has tremendously guided me in taking on a different viewpoint and understanding myself better. As an art major, I am constantly challenging myself. I am always thinking about my next move and how to get there. And, as a person, I detest comfort. If there is a way to be challenged, I will take it with vigor. These next four years are no exception. Thus far, I have not failed myself - every single piece I have made, every single word I have written, I have given my all. Staying within the bounds is too easy. So, when Mark Edmundson discussed the difficulties one will face as they commence their new journey, I could not help but love his words. “The quest at the center of an [liberal arts] education is not a luxury quest; it’s a necessity quest. If you do not undertake it, you risk leading a life of desperation. [...] You risk trying to be someone other than who you are, which, in the long run, is killing.” (Edmundson 59) In summary, Edmundson is stating that to accept the …show more content…
In fact, Michael Sandel discusses both of these combined into one in his article. Sandel discusses the meaning of money. While reading this text, I paused and had a moment of reflection. Sandel’s words made me think about the reason I am in college and the value of my education. Though this was not the intent of his paper, this is what I took from it: My education is worth years of debt. I also looked at this article in a technical way, pondering what will happen when I no longer need to worry about money. Everything is linked back to money. Sandel talks specifically about using one’s money to give gifts to friends. Most of these writings have a way of stating simple truths in such a way that they stick with the reader for a long time. Sandel’s in this article is, “Friendship at its best has a formative educative purpose. To monetize all forms of giving among friends can corrupt friendship by suffusing it with utilitarian norms.” (Sandel 102) While he spices up his writing with words that almost seem another language, Sandel has a point. One cannot monetize their friends. He is saying that using one’s wealth to give friends expensive gifts ruins the value of the friendship. It corrupts the true meaning of why these two people became friends in the first place. While this is not the intent of the person, it does happen. And this is something I need to remember in the future. It does not matter how much money I have, nor how many