Liberal is an Art?

I think this song is quite appropriate for today's RDB. It represents the student body's school spirit; it unites us all. UNITY!


After answering the question “Who am I?” and “Where did I come from?” we now tackle the question that focuses on the power of the now, the present: “Why am I here?” Of the 4,140 institutions in the United States of America, why the University of Texas at Austin?
Since childhood, it has always been a dream of mine to become successful in life; my definition of success back then, however, has greatly varied to what it means to me now. Then, it meant matriculating to the greatest university in the nation, attending the best medical school in the world, and practicing medicine in the forefront of my field; now, it simply means the contentment of body, mind, and soul. I’ve learned to understand that success cannot be classified by the number of plaques, certificates, or awards on the wall, nor does it encompass becoming the world’s best in my field of study. It’s as simple as being happy in what I do, living a content life, and making a difference in someone else’s.
At the end of my junior year in high school, I had a list of colleges I wanted to apply to the following fall. My list included the typical schools in Texas: Rice, UT, and UH – a reach, a match, and a safety school, respectively. I applied to two other reach schools: Washington University in St. Louis and Emory University, not knowing much about either school. I applied to Plan II (and DS) on a whim, having turned in my complete application 30 minutes before it was due. I knew nothing about it, except that my best friend (who is a year ahead) is in it. I, who likes to compare statistical data, figured I wouldn’t get in. My stats weren’t good enough. Realism, not negativism. Although that statement was true for all my reach schools, somehow by divine intervention, I got into Plan II (but not DS). I had subpar SAT scores, decent grades, top-10% rank, and a comical essay on the existence of Santa Clause: I felt so mundane, so unoriginal. Yet, here I am in Plan II. Why? After getting accepted into Plan II, I decided that the University of Texas at Austin was the best fit for me, like a line on a scatter plot that best summarizes all the data points. I pay half as much for the same opportunities and education at other schools I was looking into. I received outside scholarships that would cover a majority of my tuition at UT, but only half of one year at other top-tiered schools. Although the campus was colossal, I belonged to a quaint group of students, each at the zenith of their field. Perhaps it was a plan of God from the get-go. I wrote my favorite bible verse in my reflection: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart…and he shall direct your path” Prov 3:5-6. Perhaps it is His will for me to be here. Ergo, so be it.
I have come to learn in the past month that Plan II encompasses all walks of life, all forms of discipline, and all different kinds of people. It was established to allow a man to think for himself and apply his broad, worldly education to various matters, be it science, philosophy, theology, or the arts. Plan II not only gives a man a fish for the day, nor teaches a man to fish for a lifetime, but inspires a man to continually fish for different fishes at various ponds. The type of education received in Plan II is “nor a mere extrinsic or accidental advantage, which is ours today and another’s tomorrow…” (310). Newman brings up the point that “any kind if knowledge…is its own reward” (309). Paralleling the concept of reaping what you sow, the idea of knowledge being its own reward highlights the philosophy of self-learning, also known as discovery learning, “[participating] actively in the learning process rather than passively receiving knowledge…” (343 D).
Why do we pursue a university education? Personally, I believe that ignorance is bliss; but unfortunately, the entirety of the world fails to uphold this concept. Ergo, a place for “higher branches of learning” (340) by a “whole body of teachers and scholars” (340) was established. Throughout history, the meaning of the university and places of higher learning have evolved into a 4-year version of Dante’s Inferno (alright, I’m slightly exaggerating). The significance of a Bachelor’s in today’s society, however, has waned over the years. Have we become smarter as a whole? Who knows; but one can’t get far up the hierarchy with a mere Bachelor’s degree. For many of us, attaining our bachelor degrees is a simple intermediary for graduate, medical, or professional school. The education we receive in college won’t give us “wealth or power or honour or the conveniences and comforts of life,” but instead it allows us to have that base of intelligence that every educated man or woman should have. College is the time in which our foundation in a liberal education is formed; therefore, it shouldn’t be taken for granted. We can’t BS our way through UT, or Plan II for that matter. This time, our grades and how well we do in school will be yielded by how much work we put in. We won’t be spoon fed all the information anymore; instead it is up to us to learn from the book, the professor, and from others. Such is the case in Moore’s way of teaching. Instead of giving each student the information needed, he teaches them best by telling them the least (343 E). It is then up to the students to challenge themselves and learn individually.
Although every individual in Plan II is deemed “special” or “different”; in reality we are the same. We seek greatness, one way or another. We strive to be different, but through non-conformity do we conform. We are united by perfectionism, by right-brain thinking, by the hope for post-baccalaureate education. So then, why are we here? We’re here not only to better ourselves and mature our minds; we’re here to learn from others too. Liberal Education need not reside within four walls of a classroom. Liberal Education is evident in our daily interactions with one another too.