“ Now students all seem to be converging on the same self, the successful upper-middle-class professional, impersonating the adult they've already decided they want to become. William Deresiewicz
“ No real excellence, personal or social, artistic, philosophical, scientific, or moral, can arise without solitude. William Deresiewicz
“ We can start all the organic farms we want, but we can't stop congress from declaring pizza sauce a vegetable. William Deresiewicz
“ [Jane] Austen was not a novelist for nothing: she knew that our stories are what make us human, and that listening to someone else's stories -- entering into their feelings, validating their experienc… William Deresiewicz
“ But the compulsive overachievement of today's elite college students - the sense that they need to keep running as fast as they can - is not the only thing that keeps them from forming the deeper rela… William Deresiewicz
“ The purpose of college, to put this all another way, is to turn adolescents into adults. You needn't go to school for that, but if you're going to be there anyway, then that's the most important thing… William Deresiewicz
“ Fortunately, our colleges and universities are fully cognizant of the problems I have been delineating and take concerted action to address them. Curricula are designed to give coherence to the educat… William Deresiewicz
“ And speaking of options ,these kids [the ones who attend elite universities] have all been told that theirs are limitless. Once you commit to something, though, that ceases to be true. A former studen… William Deresiewicz
“ We inherited a strong and flourishing country, and instead of making the investments - that is, the sacrifices - to maintain it, we chose to suck it dry and stick our children with the bill. If you wa… William Deresiewicz
“ Depression means self-loathing, self-disgust, and the kind of emotional numbness that feels like psychic death. William Deresiewicz
“ Practical utility, however, is not the ultimate purpose of a liberal arts education. Its ultimate purpose is to help you learn to reflect in the widest and deepest sense, beyond the requirements of wo… William Deresiewicz
