I could use this senior column as an opportunity to discuss my personal growth. But as I sit down to write, it’s clear that external changes outside the Binghamton bubble are much more worthy of discussion.
When I started undergrad in fall 2011, I did not anticipate the exponential pace of technological and social progress. As we spent our days holed up in the library or downing 40oz’s of malt liquor, the world transformed around us.
I often used my columns as a platform to highlight technological advances, from the reverse engineering of the human brain to gene therapy. Every single day, I’m dumbfounded by news of yet another advance. It’s surreal that in 2016 I will be able to purchase the first fully functioning holographic computer.
But unprecedented challenges accompany these technological leaps forward. Environmental disaster looms. By 2050, an estimated fourth of plant and animal species will go extinct. By the end of this century, sea levels are expected to rise an additional two to seven feet. These predictions weigh heavily on my psyche. I’m worried.
On the economic front, I’m worried about rising income inequality and the cost of raising a family. Nearly half of public school children receive government-funded lunch. More and more Americans are falling below the poverty line even as the nation’s overall wealth increases. Student loan debt recently surpassed credit card debt. These conditions are unsustainable and I fear the onset of a Great Depression from which our country will never recover.
So many nights of my college career I spent tossing and turning in my bed thinking about how my own future fit into these larger questions. Will I lose my job to artificial intelligence or permanent economic downturn? Will I fall out of the middle class and find myself unable to raise the kids I’ve always desperately wanted? Will I ever find the right person for me? And when I meet her, will a global warming-induced natural disaster plunge us both into the sea in the midst of our second date? You get the idea.
What I failed to realize during those late nights is that constantly thinking about the future distracts from the task at present. I wasted so many hours, so much time that I sometimes failed to give those around me the attention that they deserved. And for that, I am truly sorry.
We will never be able to control such pressing external forces. It’s important to strike a balance between accounting for what’s to come and resigning yourself to enjoy each passing moment.
If I have any advice for similarly neurotic underclassmen, it’s to accept that you cannot control any person, place or phenomenon but yourself. Take heed to maintain an awareness of the world beyond the artificial college environment, but also an awareness of what’s right in front of you. All of it matters equally.
To the Pipe Dream staff, you are all terrific and push me to hold myself to a higher standard. You’re some of the smartest people at this University and don’t get nearly the recognition you deserve. I know you’ll receive it in due time.
To everyone at the Mansion, thank goodness I met y’all. Thank you for being absolutely nuts. Like really, who else is going to walk around in adult diapers or hang a giant banner reading, “Fags Rule the World!” No one else in Binghamton, New York. You’re all special to me.
To anyone else I connected with during these four years, thank you for putting up with my resting bitch face and unconventional sense of humor.
To all my haters, enjoy mediocrity. My star is rising. Adieu.