Happiness and Duke

Take a look at the world around you. Your roommate is an amazing athlete and has already written an inspirational autobiography. Your best friend is an absolute computer genius and when you watch him talk about his passions, you just know he will make a tangible difference. The seniors in your selective house are looking to the future, getting jobs and becoming the experts that the world will soon look to for important decisions. It seems that everyone is going on to great things.

But what happens to the people who aren’t Duke students? What happens to the people on the opposite end of the spectrum, the children who have autism or learning disabilities that hinder their ability to interact with the world? How many of you have spent a day with one of these amazing children, helping him create a finger-painting he will be proud to hang on the refrigerator? When was the last time you danced with one of them to music until you both fell down, laughing so hard? Although it sounds stupid, it’s moments like this that make me glad to be alive.

Despite all the accomplished people at Duke, my favorite person in the world is my 11-year-old sister. She’s the queen of karaoke and singing songs at the top of her lungs in the car. She’s that little girl who lets me read her bedtime stories when it hits 9 p.m. My little sister is my favorite person because she doesn’t care about my grades in school, who my friends are, if I have a boyfriend or what clothes I am wearing.

Instead, she is concerned for my happiness and whether or not I am enjoying life. Every time I talk to her on the phone, she ends the conversation asking me if I am happy, a question that is often overlooked.

It’s so easy for us to get caught up in our world of academics and become consumed by a paper or an orgo test; it’s too easy for us to forget that there is more to the world than what our Gothic Wonderland holds. We often find ourselves smothered by the fast-paced rhythm of Duke life, and in the process, we realize that our dreams and self esteem have somehow floated away.

How often are we really upset or stressed out because we didn’t get an “A” on that last test? It’s sad that we can let one grade determine our attitude. How accurately can a piece of paper with a red letter scribbled across the top measure our self-worth?

I know it sounds stupid, but I almost think my 11-year-old sister is smarter than most people. Even though she just learned her ABC’s and requires constant supervision from my mother, she has already figured out the meaning of life. She understands that 10 years down the road, you won’t remember how many pages of econ you read in college or how many calc problems you were able to correctly solve. Instead, we will remember what we loved about these years. What is important is that we take the time to enjoy each day, to make others laugh, and to make sure that we are happy with the way our lives our going. Even though my sister will never win academic awards or excel in the classroom, she will definitely have a positive impact on the world.

I know that when I go home for break, I can walk upstairs and run into the arms a beautiful little girl. I know that she will wrap her arms tightly around me and tell me that she missed me. She will proudly show off her new ballet outfit and will hand me a cookie with her chocolate covered fingers. And after all this is done, I know she will ask me if I am happy. And I will be more than ready to say yes