The Art of Shutting Up

Aaron Holder
Class of 2017

It’s rare that I’m given an opportunity to kick my cerebral shoes off and relax; despite what you may believe, a lot goes within my blonde head.  What I didn’t realize, however, was that my mind—my own mind, that is—rarely was given the opportunity to stretch its restless legs.  The purpose of an education is to educate.  But when our minds are held to an agenda through the entire process, how can we know if it is what we are supposed to learn?  No one can deny that an education has its value.  But what value is education that is held to no standard or agenda, and one in which the teacher and pupil are one in the same?  Now I live far from campus, which is a new lifestyle in itself.  I found myself in my own pocket of brick and mortar, away from lively campus life, and took time to educate myself in that which I was not well versed. 

When you’re alone there’s no one to tell you what to think, what to say, what to do.  Your mind lets itself wander down its own labyrinthine halls, casting light on thoughts that have yet to be, uncovering opinions that have yet to be formed.  Likewise, it can help you find closure in matters left open to question.  I’ve always considered myself to be a bit of an extrovert, but now that’s not the case; in solitude, you learn to more carefully choose your words, for you now fully realize their gravity.  Music begins to sound different; lyric, melody and cadence more clearly illustrate their cumulative effort, and feeling bursts forth.  

What I mean to say is, solitude is a tool.  It shouldn’t be discouraged, for it allows one to more wholly piece themselves together through deep introspection.  I figured out a lot about how I think and come to conclusions, as well as how I interpret how others act toward me.  But perhaps the most important thing I realized, was that for so much of our lives, we pretend.  It could be that one pretends to care about academics; it could similarly be that one pretends to love their job, day after day.  Pretending is necessary to daily life.  What’s scary, though, is how enough pretending can turn into reality.  In an environment where so much of what we learn and consume is dictated by agenda, bear in mind the value of reconnecting with oneself by simply shutting up.

Aaron Holder is a sophomore McConnell Scholar studying political science. He is form Scottsville, Ky.