“I had expected my peers to feel similarly, to be in awe of the amenities, to be thrilled by the opportunity, the absolute privilege, we all have received by getting to be educated at somewhere like Wash.U. But instead…I have been surrounded by insults to the food, insults to the housing, insults to the institution.

Taking a year off to let yourself breathe and to spend time on yourself can allow you to come back with a freshened enthusiasm for education.

Your future is not going to be shaped by how smart you are or are not; it’s not based on natural brightness. What really matters is the effort you are willing to put in.

Judging people for joining the ROTC, labeling them as murderers or as lacking morality, is elitist. It is failing to realize that not everyone can afford to go to college or has the connections and the guidance to find other scholarships to avoid the military.