Plagued with excessive anxiety and a brain that likes to fight my common sense- sometimes survival is difficult. I was worried that as I embarked on my college adventure I would focus so solely on survival that I would forget to actually live. I wanted to avoid structuring my time to a point where I eliminated all spontaneity. So far, I have survived, but that is not all I have done. I have attended a play, participated in a religious group, made the acquaintances of many of my peers. While I am a fan of Star Trek, I had never heard this particular quote. The words were threaded seamlessly into Mandel’s novel, but they were also incredibly relatable. “Survival is insufficient” is a motto that I hope to remember throughout the rest of my college career.
There is something about humanity that is special. That special attribute is why we are different from chickens or ants or fish. Give it a name, or do not give it a name; humans are extraordinary beyond their capacity for survival. We cook to create flavor profiles. We write to indulged the imagination. We sing to create an experience. We create movies to entertain or even to move people. Humans are more than eating, drinking, sleeping, and breathing. For a species who truly stands above the rest, survival is simply