Liberal Arts Education

1240 Words5 Pages
I casually walk into the exam room, my blonde hair streaming behind me. A warm smile spreads across my face as I offer my hand to introduce myself. Next, my nimble fingers dance on the keyboard as I quickly go over the files. Finally, I daintily take my seat and focus my piercing eyes on the person before me. “So you are experiencing…?” I begin. This is how I picture myself in six to ten years – a full fledged health care professional. This is an admirable dream to have, but this dream is lacking. For instance, what is going on behind my piercing eyes? What is stirring in my heart? What motivates me? I, like the majority of college students, get caught up in the thinking that college is simply a stepping stone on the way to a future career.…show more content…
It is the means by which men and women have sought to interpret the world or to take a comprehensive view of it. [Liberal arts education inculcates] a habit of mind that allows us to distinguish between trivial and significant issues and answers, to select and discriminate (2003). A major theme of this passage is decision making, or discernment. I agree that a liberal arts education should give students the tools to make wise decisions because a liberal arts education should prepare students for life, and life comes with a mountain of decisions. Hope College, specifically, teaches students to let God direct their decisions. This is wise seeing as God is the only one who can see the entire picture of our lives, while we on earth can only see a small piece. Also, in regards to the nursing profession, a nurse is required to be skilled in discernment when judging how to best address a patient’s needs. Additionally, this passage states that a liberal arts education teaches students how to interpret the world. This, conversely, is not an aspiration I have for myself. I believe that it is more important to interpret what is right in front of you, in your local community, than become overwhelmed with the happenings of the entire world. My goal is that I am a compassionate citizen who is always aware of the needs in my
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