Imagine this, imagine that

With an eclectic assortment of vegetables sprawled out in front of us, we were told: write. The rough edges of the ginger snapped at some while others were fascinated by the sheer size of the turnip, later to be dubbed a cliché alliteration of the name Timmy the Turnip. All the while, I sat in this creative writing class of a mere ten students, staring at a blank page inundated with possibilities, reveling in the lost art of imagination.

Seeing creative writing in my schedule amongst the likes of linear algebra or computer science often raises an eyebrow or two. Sometimes not, because Duke students are oh-so-well-rounded and I’m sure there is someone out there doing a senior thesis combining fiction novels and its implications in String Theory. Though the course does seem out of the ordinary and is definitely a change from any and all quantitative studies, the creativity and imagination involved resound in all of us, no matter how miniscule and whether we realize it or not.

Every Sunday night, I try to make a rudimentary to-do list for the week on which I include meetings, emails, upcoming tests, and promised meals. With such a jam-packed schedule further flooded with classes, I cringe at the lack of time I have to myself to simply think. Not worry over the upcoming quiz in two days, not try to plan out my day minute by minute while on the C1, but just think- to let my imagination drift off to wherever imaginations go. The loss of this meta-voyage is an overlooked catastrophe and we the students are the victims.

All of us applied to Duke because we were determined. Aspiring towards success, we naturally sought out an intellectually stimulating atmosphere. In pursuit of Duke, we may have taken an overwhelming number of AP classes, accumulated an outstanding list of extracurricular activities ranging from sports to band to start-up charities and overused the word “passion” in our essays when describing such involvements. We imagined intricate plans of all the amazing accomplishments that were to come in our next four years and even beyond our college career. When we arrived at our beloved Gothic Wonderland, we instinctually hit the ground running. Research, volunteering, clubs, internships- you name it and someone, if not you yourself, was doing it.

Once at Duke, we were still, if not more, determined. Yet, at one point, I realized determined was all I was. Hours of work and all I was focusing on in the future were the next things on my to-do list. I aspired towards good grades for the sake of good grades and was eager to get involved because as I looked around, that seemed like the right thing to do. I was determined, but I had lost sight of why I was determined or what I was even determined for. The genuine drive as an academic and a student was simply lacking.

Though I am not in any way trying to convert all of you to switch into or, knowing Duke students, double up with an English major, I can confidently say that creative writing has been my personal cure to this common Duke ailment. The class has been riveting. The inexplicable feeling of witnessing my overdue imagination and creativity lunge onto my paper has been a liberating experience. In addition, it has rekindled my hunger in wanting to simply do more with my next three years at Duke.

As privileged students in a top-tier university, imagination and creativity, when equipped with the myriad of available opportunities, are our most powerful assets. They are the roots of our aspirations and here at Duke, we are given the opportunity to make those dreams a reality. Yet, our increasingly hectic lifestyles have a tendency to somewhat place imagination and creativity on the backburner and fetter our aspirations. Moreover, the academic culture at Duke is inevitably competitive and its products of stress and anxiety often foster hesitation in students’ attempts to, apologies for the cliché, reach for the stars. We often settle for what is safe in fear of failure, a natural component of life that we Duke students are so unfamiliar with and absolutely terrified of. This fear hinders us from achieving our full potential and defeats the purpose of our time here at Duke- to think, to imagine, and to innovate.

Determination is why we all applied to Duke. Yet, countless applications most likely had the grades, the standardized test scores, and resumes similar to our own. Perhaps what got us admitted was not just our willingness to go above and beyond in academics, but our enthusiasm in aspiring towards the imagined. This zealous longing has largely diminished and without it, Duke will not continue to be the premiere university it has historically been. I am not telling you to abandon your academics and daydream your days away. Rather, take time to take a look around. You are at Duke. Imagine this, imagine that, imagine all the possibilities.