Why are you here?
CRYSTAL VALES
cvales@mscd.edu

   After a sobering hiatus from my column, I have discovered two things. First, that purpose and practicality in this microcosm we call higher education can be mutually exclusive, and, if anything, are supremely difficult to balance.
   Practically speaking, I think all of us here have an idea of why we are here. And that is to assume positions in various fields of employment after graduation. But, if that is all you are looking for, are you missing out on the other struggles within academia that produce a well-rounded and thoughtful individual? Can being this thoughtful individual bastardize your chances of interview-ease? I think so.
   I think about every position I was able to squeak my way into prior to returning to school and I am surprised. Before all of this, I was much more able to rely on charm and small talk. And now, after philosophical hardening has taken its toll, I have a hard time even imagining how I can talk around questions that seem “philosophical.” Like, “How do you see yourself contributing to not only this organization, but to the field at large?” I used to be able to dance around this question with casual correlation in my personal experiences all while juxtaposing my likeability factor. This seems to be the answer interviewers like—something prepackaged and conveniently delivered with a preserved air of spontaneity. Now, I am in repose and in doing so, wanting to give an actual answer.
   Perception and reality are entirely different things, we have all heard the phrase, “Perception is reality.” Telling a philosophy-savvy person that would seem a notion to argue, as perception is philosophy’s biggest concern. While in some degree or another, anyone in the business world would argue stridently, that this is the case without question.
   Philosophy is concerned with the meaning of such propositions and their implication on a truth, while the business world searches for a “methodology” that assists them in their search for the best way to turn a profit. Is it paradoxical to make these two things work together?
   I’m sure we can find a myriad of examples of companies and people who were not as they appeared, and for which the consequences of this method are apparent in the many scandals that have rocked the business world.
   I suppose it is only fitting that people who have never been forced to think about the implication of their decision-making, are stuck in a meaningless search from one scheme to another.
   Purpose is what is needed. After you have discovered a purpose in doing something, methodology is something that falls into place. Just think about the reasons you came to college: you had a purpose in mind. And if you didn’t, you will forever remain hopelessly wandering the self-help section of your own mind and doomed to choose the copy in the bargain bin.