Monday, August 3, 1998
Indifference shackles young minds
APATHY: Once you decide you can’t change world, giving up isn’t
key to lasting happiness
I am one of the last bastions against the growing tide of
apathy. I came to that conclusion after one of my many random
musings, the culmination of so many things that I just realized one
day.
This became obvious when someone said, "Hey Joseph, you’re the
most idealistic person." I remain idealistic because I still
believe I can make a difference by leaving an impact on others.
This idealistic attitude of mine has remained unchanged
throughout college. In many ways, I feel my belief somehow prevents
the apparent apathy I see in so many people.
So what makes me think that people don’t care? It is many things
that I’ve seen, observed and heard about, especially this past
year. Maybe it’s just me, but the apathy at school seems incessant,
something pervading all of our lives.
Of course, the protest at Royce Hall demonstrates that we can
care. But even with this, I still am convinced that a large portion
of the student body does not care anymore.
Yes, I realize maybe it’s just that some of us are no longer
starry-eyed freshmen, surrounded by peers who don’t know the
realities of college life. Students mature at UCLA – they grow up
to see what people are really like, only to realize that their
hands are tied. Students no longer think they can make a
difference.
I think that there is a linear correlation between time spent
here and the degree of not caring.
Maybe it’s just how college is structured. Everybody here, to
some degree, is a pre-professional of sorts. GPA dominates. Many
classes are curved, and inevitably someone has to be on the lower
end, getting those Cs and Ds. Grades come down to the individual’s
performance.
At first, you get involved, you make a difference. Maybe you’re
doing it for the club itself, or maybe for the resume. Maybe you
join a cultural club, in order to meet people from your own
background.
Moreover, as a freshman or a sophomore, you live in the dorms.
You meet tons of people, a diverse group with varying interests and
goals. But as you become a junior and senior, you move to an
apartment or might even move home. You are no longer exposed to the
huge melting pot that is UCLA.
Inevitably, this isolation can add up to narrow-mindedness and
apathy. Caring for people doesn’t help you at all. You realize that
it’s your grades that are going to get you somewhere. You rarely
meet new people, stick with your clique of friends and are happy
with who you are. But are you?
Congratulations to all of you who have read up to this point –
you still care (or maybe you’re reading this because you know
me).
Hey, even with the superb reader response (At last count it was
two – actually one – since the other asked me about my majors), I
remain optimistic. I know that at least two people other than
family and friends are reading this.
My sister, who also happens to attend this school, has more than
just encouraged me to remove my last name from this article. She is
embarrassed that this rambling fool is her brother. Even though my
sister blatantly threatens me, I secretly continue to write this
article, hoping to make contact with the outside world.
The horrors of the upcoming MCAT (med-school test) don’t even
deter me – I slave away at this article on night’s end, giving up
precious studying time. I burn the midnight oil to challenge
individuals and make them think.
Moreover, on a similar idealistic note, I still would like to be
a doctor. I’m not too discouraged by my so-so grades or the
bureaucracy that comes along with medicine. In the end, I think
everything will work out.
Somehow, medical schools will be astonished at my sincerity.
They will see that I’m no facade. I want to be a doctor solely
because I care and love working with people. Even when I
volunteered in the hospital, I preferred talking to the patients
and hanging out with the orderlies instead of watching the
doctors.
As a fourth-year student, I’m still too darn starry-eyed. I am
still passionate about changing this world. (Yes, as corny as that
may sound). I will never give into apathy.
I still believe in Santa Claus, fairy tales and
happily-ever-afters.
"You are bound by nothing" is my favorite quotation (from "Good
Will Hunting"). My favorite movies are "Braveheart" and "An Affair
to Remember".
I prefer being a dreamer to being a realist, if being a realist
entails being apathetic. I guess that many people become sucked
into the safety, the comfort of just not caring too much. It’s
obvious that if you don’t give a damn, you won’t have anything to
lose.
On the other hand, I would much rather passionately care,
exposing myself to the possible pitfalls.
So, does anyone else out there give a damn? Does anyone think
that they can still make that difference? In my heart, I think I
will always believe that.
Call me what you may, but if this is the attitude that drives
me, it must.
Well, though you may have thought I could not get any cheesier,
I write this column because I think that people out there will read
it and be affected, even changed, by my views.
If you constantly consider yourself as insignificant and trapped
by the boundaries that this world imposes, I don’t think you can
succeed. A person needs to be less individualistic and more
idealistic.
Definitely, I might be fooling myself in thinking that I can be
whatever I want to be. I dream as though I were in a fantasy world,
still foolish, naive and young.
Yet I believe it is that idealism which prevents apathy.
Yes, I struggle on to make an impact, even if only one person
ends up reading this article.
Abrajano is a fourth-year biology and English student. Please,
please send any comments or feedback to [email protected].