COLUMN: Others may fill your shoes, so do what they can't

From Alan Lowinger's, "The Rest of the Story," Fall '00 From Alan Lowinger's, "The Rest of the Story," Fall '00Ahumble question for the reader: Where does Penn stand without you? This world that we dub "Penn" will be free of us seniors in a matter of weeks. Hey Day and Commencement invitations dictate so. And here it all is: the end. That's it, finito, sayonara, ma-salaama, make sure not to leave any luggage in the overhead compartment. Years of building rapport with students and faculty alike, and I'm given the ol' boot. Kinda sad, no? Once on the upper half of the educational hourglass, the sands of time have fallen slowly, taking us along a journey of maturation. Now, we are finally about to squeeze through the small hole, to meet our counterparts in the real world at the bottom. It seems like yesterday that I could never see life outside of my activities at Penn. I could not envision life without an alarm set for 11:33 a.m. or an activity or class set to build me into a better candidate for the future. But now, the future has fast come, and damnit, I'm ready. No, I don't have a job lined up, don't have a career path planned, don't have any preference as to where I want to go -- but I know I want out. Of course, something inside me wants to stay just a little longer in the comforts of late mornings, thousands of peers my age and the Korean food truck. But like the curse of eternal youth, it might be a blessing, perhaps perfection, until everyone you know would be gone. Being at a highly esteemed school, we have grown content with our accomplishments. When the accolades of new applicants raise Penn's academic standing, when we get voted into that position of responsibility, when we volunteer, we have done nothing more than ooze into betterment. Many students squeeze through four years doing activities and making choices that seem to have infinite influence -- until the eye-opening realization that anyone else could have done it. For the presidents and leaders, could anyone else have done what you did, or was what you did outstanding? For those who volunteered as a tutor or a mentor, was your influence yours alone? Or, would someone else in your position have achieved the same results? I don't know the answer to that. I've been a leader, but maybe some other person (or large group of monkeys on typewriters) would have and could have done the same -- or better. If I wasn't writing this column, someone else would. And with that, my presence, self-importance and, ultimately, my influence vanishes. As seniors prepare to ooze out of Penn, a new class prepares to ooze in. Underclassmen have already gotten ready to ooze into the jobs, leadership positions and meeting spaces that we once occupied and held so dear. If there is anything to be learned from a four-year education, it's to humble oneself. In the grand scheme of things, if you were not in the picture, someone else, as if by osmosis, would take your place. Pessimism, this is not. This is a call for action: Do things that others wouldn't be able to in your place. Be amazing. Change the world. Be original. Invent. Make yourself important. Osmosis won't do that. A two-year financial what's-it-called for whatever firm won't do that. A snazzy summer internship and taking 30-something classes won't do that. Being a leader won't do that. All these things alone won't do that. Expanding the limits of yourself however, will. In that vein, my greatest hope is that somewhere, something or someone changed -- somehow -- because of me. I used to think that my initials carved into the wall of my freshman-year dorm, or an inane question written on a library desk would immortalize me. But look at the rust-blobs on the high-rise urinal "splash guards" and you'll realize that making one's mark is, well, just making a mark. Plus, they've painted over my deep carvings and no one has answered my stupid question. Who cares about the activities of two out of three Tri-Delts anyhow? Best case scenario, my writing has impacted even just a few people in a way that no one else could have. This has been my attempt at rising from the ooze. To you, the wide-eyed reader, the world around you awaits. But, you have to make an effort to rise above it. And that's, as they say, the rest of the story.