Michaela Lumpert, Campus Carrier news editor
As someone who is so curious about anything and everything, my favorite question to ask is why. The question is so open-ended that it leads to a plethora of answers that all can lead down different rabbit holes.
As a journalist, why is my go to question. It often leads to the “golden quote” as I call it, the one quote that ties the story up with a beautiful, purple bow. But this past week, I faced a conundrum with my favorite word.
The week started like any other: I attended my classes, went to work and completed my assignments. My nights usually consist of either going to the Cage Center to work out or heading to rehearsal to dance. Nothing in my life seemed out of the ordinary until I ran into an old friend Tuesday night, and then began my conundrum.
My friend asked me why I was pursuing a dance minor, when I did not want to pursue a career in dance. “Well,” I replied, “dance is something I enjoy, and it’s a passion that I want to pursue until I can’t anymore.”
“But,” they continued , “why?” And I sat across from them speechless . Dance was something that I enjoyed, who cares if I minor in it and don’t pursue it after college.
The confusion I felt continued on in the week as I noticed that “why?” was something that I got asked all the time in different forms: Why are you dressed up? Why are you going to SGA? Why are you going home?
And finally, after the fifth or sixth question of why, I got upset. Why do I have to have a reason for everything I do? When did I get to a point in my life when everything I did had to somehow make sense to everyone around me except for me?
We all have personal lives that matter to us, and we shouldn’t feel like we are pleasing everyone else with what we do. We make decisions every day based on things that matter to us, but we shouldn’t feel the need to have to explain every single decision we made that day. When did we get to the point in our lives that every decision we make has to mean something great?
Well I’m here to tell you it absolutely doesn’t. You don’t need to feel the need to explain why you do the things you do. In the end, the only thing that you should worry about is if it makes you happy or not. If you want to dress up today, then go right ahead. Don’t feel like there has to a be reason for absolutely everything you do.
“Why” will still be my favorite word even after this week, but it has taught me to accept others’ decisions rather than always question them. I will admit it, I have fallen victim to asking why a lot in my life. But in the end, we all have our own lives and we make our own decisions that benefit us rather than everyone else. There doesn’t have to be a reason for everything we do. Don’t feel pressured by others, just do things because you love to do them and they make you happy.