Smart. Lazy. Apathetic.

That's most college students for you, in a nutshell. Who we are, and who we are instead.

Consider this notion: every man is bound by the limits of his own perception and reality. There is no absolute reality because everyone constructs their own versions of events, theories, and ideas. In college, all of us come in contact with a plethora of people, some fade-out and some don't. Their ideas rub off on us, as do their personalities, tastes, and lifestyles in general. Pop culture. Generation Y. These weren't created by one mind alone. These were created by a mixture of originality, influence, acceptance and then conformity.

Most people like to think that college students are lazy and apathetic. These views trickle down to us, and we like to think of us as lazy and apathetic too. It's how college students are. When in college, that is how one must be. How one is. Except that, it is not. Those who have heard us converse will tell you about our potential. The ideas we develop in our minds, the worlds we create -- whose plausibility is yet to be determined and yet we are hopeful. There is potential waiting to be honed, directed and harnessed. And yes, we can be lazy. This fast-paced competitive world distills the ideas of "fending for yourself" and competition into most of us. Life is hard and convoluted. You must struggle and struggle before you can achieve your heart's dearest desires. And you struggle so much that you slowly forget what you loved. Who you loved. Who you were.Your true self becomes more and more distant from you, and what you are left with is an illusion of yourself. The image that others projected on you. You have to construct your own life to the best of your ability, if you are to be successful. You don't have the time to worry about others. There are no "others" in your life. It is just you.

Really? I wonder.
I wonder where the concept of man being a social being evolved from. From the beginning of time, right? We are made of people. We are People. Every bit of our fabric is made of a person who left an imprint on us. And very spark of our imagination is filled with people we are yet to meet. The possibilites. Tabula rasa.

Yes, this is a very idealistic way of thinking. But this is, more than anything, an acceptance of who we are when our mind is free, and without fear. As a friend once said, there are those that destroy and those that mend, and in the end, there is some balance.

We are the balance. We are the World. We are People.