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| Natalie Smith |
Earlier this week, freshmen McConnell Scholars attended a seminar on liberal education with Dr. Gregg. Due to some confusion, only one of us actually completed the assigned reading (congratulations, Kevin), so the actual seminar we had planned is postponed until the spring semester. However, the chance conversation we had there inspired me to think more about liberal learning as we had discussed it at our freshman orientation this summer.
At orientation, we were given a copy of a lecture entitled, “Solitude and Leadership,” that was presented to a graduating class at West Point a few years ago. The lecture discusses the ways in which solitude is required in order to develop the qualities of your character as well as craft your own ideas. After a full day of seminars and meetings, we were then instructed to venture outside in order to find a place where we could sit and think, all alone, for an hour. We couldn’t check our texts or Facebook or Twitter. We couldn’t escape our own thoughts. I found this hour to be incredibly valuable. When we are constantly bombarded with distractions, we forget how important it is to discover a reality that belongs to us alone. We become hollow; we are filled only with that which is outside of our true beings. In order to become real, we must no longer repress the voice inside us that tells us what we stand for or believe. Solitude is one of the only ways to assist in becoming real. In solitude, you can confront the questions within yourself. Too frequently do we become distracted by outside influences and ignore that which lies within us—that which allows us to question, to doubt, to contemplate, to rethink.
Embracing solitude does not necessarily amount to becoming a recluse. Solitude can, of course, mean intensive introspection, but it can also be found in concentration of work or focused reading. We may not have time every day to take an hour of silence like we did at our orientation, but everyone can find a way to contemplate in their own way. As our freshman class embraces a new environment, as well as new people and points of view in the start of our college lives, I find it all the more important to take some time of solitude for myself, especially since solitude can be difficult to find if you don’t actively seek it. At our freshman seminar earlier this week, Dr. Gregg challenged us to think about the questions that we perhaps keep blocked out of our minds in our busy schedules: what is my aim? What is my mission and how far along am I on my mission? How do I become a better human?
On the threshold of beginning my second semester of college, these questions are undeniably intimidating. Since having begun as a student and McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville, I have been exposed to new ideas, and the things I stand for continue to evolve based on my experiences.
The answers to these questions do not come easily; patience and concentration are required. It is not a job that can be trivially checked off of a to-do list and then tossed aside without further thought. As an introspective person by nature, finding solitude has always been important to me, but now I see it not only as an opportunity to refresh my mind but also as a time to find myself and seek my own reality. Only then will I be able to think for myself and develop as a leader.
Natalie Smith, of Hardin County, is a freshman McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. She is studying political science.