Finding Polaris

By Aditi Jha

Until I understand where I am, I can't get to where I'm going. - John C. Maxwell

Recently on social media, people have been posting things from violent rhetoric to blatant misinformation. It makes one wonder what their purpose is. What do they believe in? The north star is a star named Polaris that guided slaves to freedom in the north, and travelers in the desert to their final destination. So what is their guiding purpose? What is their north star? What makes them wake up every morning and go through their day? A few days ago at the Capitol, there was the riot. Why were insurrectionists attacking a symbol of democracy? What drove them to do those terrible things? I founded the Philosopher's Papers to make a change, because ignorance is a problem. Whatever happens today changes the world we live in tomorrow. I want to dispel the illusion that politics is confusing, overwhelming, or most often the case, not the problem of my generation. When I asked one of my friends what her north star was, she said that it was self-love. She said that she wanted to “be someone who takes the time to understand people, rather than judge [them].” She added that she wanted to help people who feel like they don’t belong in a place where they do. She wakes up in the morning and goes through her day so she can eventually be a person who helps others to “be comfortable in their own skin,” accepting the person they are and not only that, but helping them like themselves. I want to be a journalist, or a civil rights attorney, because I want people to have news they can trust. A person's north star is a guiding principle that leads them through their career and life. So what’s your north star? What makes you persevere, because you know that you can get where you want to be?