Fiza
Quraishi
President, Barnard Student Gov't. Assoc.
May 16, 2000
"So
what are your plans for next year, or is that a
bad subject?" It seems that this question has replaced
"so, how's your thesis coming along?" as the most
dreaded question for many a Barnard senior. There
seems to be an implicit expectation that we graduate
from college knowing what we will be doing for the
next several years. People have told me time and
again that my college years will prove to have been
the most amazing four years of my life and nothing
will ever compare. Understandably these past four
years are unique, and we will probably never be
in the same type of wild and crazy living or academic
situation. Despite this fact, however, I think life
post-Barnard has much to offer us.
We came to this school as first years or transfers,
and I don't know if any of you were like me, but
I was unsure as to why I was here or what I wanted
out of my college experience. Well here it is, four
years later, and lo and behold, I am in a very similar
position. Who knew? I am unsure as to what I want
to do with the next two years let alone with the
rest of my life, as I'm sure many of you are. But,
the difference now is that we are all armed with
our experiences here at Barnard to enter the "real"
world. While many of us may have jobs lined up for
the future, or are enrolled in graduate programs,
we are all in a period of transition and instability.
Having a plan set out for the next few years does
not mean that we should stop experimenting and exploring
our options, whether they be career options or personal
life choices. Hard work and motivation are certainly
a virtue, but stability and constancy, my friends,
are not the keys to success and perhaps they should
not be our goals.
College
was a time for us to break personal barriers and
question many ideas that we hold to be true-this
to me was the most valuable lesson I learned in
college. I have met many extraordinary women here-it
has been you, my classmates who have helped me to
learn many things about myself and others. It has
been my experiences with you that have made me realize
that I must always try to understand where others
are coming from and see different point of views
in all aspects of life. By questioning ourselves
we work on making ourselves better and more complete
people, something we need to continue doing after
leaving Barnard.
We hear about Barnard women going out and changing
the world and we are told that we, too, can change
the world with our education and the leadership
experiences we have gained here. We need to remember,
however, that the most effective change comes when
we look into ourselves. This is part of being educated,
a process that we have all taken part in here. Our
education at Barnard is not composed merely of our
academic work or leadership experiences. Our education
comes from every interaction we have had with our
peers, faculty and administration. Our education
comes not only from what we have learned in classes,
but also from what we have learned from others and
about ourselves. Now, upon this entrance into the
professional world we need to continue questioning
and learning about ourselves in relation to the
people we encounter throughout our lives. In this
way, perhaps we can carry on reminders of our experiences
and what we have learned here at Barnard.
So, back to that gnawing question of what our plans
are for next year. I guess my answer is to try and
resist the ease of falling into a myopic routine
of life, working with my nose to the grindstone
instead of stepping away from my work, at least
metaphorically, and indulging in the variables that
the future has to offer. I hope you all join me.
Good luck in the future and keep it real in the
'00!!
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