Who are you, anyway?

I am a "non-traditional" student. After a stretch of trade school, working and a few semesters at an IU extension campus, I came to Bloomington knowing myself and what I wanted to get out of the experience. The extension campus was filled with kids who seemed to be taking classes only to kill time between tanning and clubs' openings at night, intent only on making enough cash to make payments on a condo and an SUV and have some left over to drink themselves stupid two or three nights a week. I had no illusions about the trappings of college life in Bloomington, but I wasn't prepared for the general malaise of IU's student body.\nI'm not here to tell you what to care about, but there is a distinct population on this campus who do not care about anything, who aren't passionate or involved. They are apathetic, and militantly so. To them, college is a rite of passage, a four-year-long drinking game where the winners are pharmaceutical sales reps. They raise their hands in class and say they want to go into "business" or "public relations." \nWHY? Will just any business do? Are IU students passionate about manufacturing, marketing and retailing any widget that is set in front of them? Are they content to shill for corporations, issue press releases about toothpaste and appear on the local news when there is a product recall? I can relate to students who are pursuing a specific agenda, even if it is one I disagree with which. I have a hard time understanding students who are vehemently opposed to knowing anything, most of all themselves.\nIf I took an informal poll of IU students, how many would list their interests as, "partying," "music" or "movies?" This sounds like it means something but it doesn't. What you do defines what you are only to a certain degree. Why you do what you do is key. Why do you party? What music do you like and why? What movies affect you powerfully? Do you engage in whatever activities are expected of you and consume whatever magazines, records and films are placed in front of you?\nOur culture denigrates introspection and our lifestyles and media consumption are geared toward filling our days with so much noise we don't have the chance to think about who we are and what we want. Rather than taking advantage of the unique opportunities for emotional and intellectual growth a major University offers, the focus is on weekly bacchanals and this season's hit reality show. Any thoughts or activities that sit comfortably outside these confines foster anxiety. \nMaybe I see it all wrong, and many of my peers are passionate about pop culture, haute couture and celebrity romances. I'm not sure which is worse -- apathy or genuine interest in the banal. I think many people just don't know themselves. When TRL is over and you've flipped every page of the new US Weekly, when you've seen The Dave Matthews cover band for the 100th time and there is nothing left to occupy yourself with which, stop. \nStop and think about who you are and what you want from your life. If you are content connecting the dots of 100 million lives lived before yours, then good luck and godspeed. If you are not fulfilled by all the noise and waste and bright flashing lights, you have a difficult choice. Either abandon trivial pursuits in favor of following your passions or continue your trajectory and suppress the desire for a more substantive life. There are no guarantees of success and happiness, but I'll play my hand and lose every day of the week and still be glad I'm not watching Celebrity Poker.