Searching For Meaning

December 5, 2021

"Nothing is more powerful than allowing yourself to truly be affected by things. Whether it's the sight of the wild sea, a warm shower, a song, a scent, a smiling stranger, a sentence, a footstep - take it all in. Felle the awe of it in your heart." -Project Wayfinder

For the past few days, I've been putting off this post. I felt as if its contents would only reiterate my previous reflections like a broken record, and I've almost grown tired of my usual inspiring outlook on discovering oneself to improve the world. Instead, I spent the weekend doing the things I haven't had much time for recently: working out, focusing on my diet, supporting my family at sporting events, giving myself down time to do absolutely nothing.

But right before I began to write this, I was doing one of my favorite things - giving back. While the urge to complete an assignment remained, I pushed it towards the back of my mind and prioritized writing letters to friends and loved ones. I've always struggled to explain my thoughts and emotions towards others, but in a recent discovery I learned that I can channel it through letters and meaningful gifts. I want to be able to tell people the impact they've had on my life an how much I appreciate them. Instead of stressing over how to verbalize my feelings, I can now demonstrate it to the ones I love without even saying a word.

Everyone always asks, "Why are we here?" or "What's our purpose for being put on this Earth?". But the truth is, nobody knows. I don't think anyone ever will know how we as a population came to be. That can be a hard pill to swallow for some. But for others, it's only the dawn to an epoch of endless possibilities.

Wayfinder strives to reveal personal meaning within students to give them a foundation to begin their own self-discovery. The company's goal is to break students out of the mold and introduce them to who they are and who they want to be. They believe students can be much happier, healthier, and more engaged if they have a sense of purpose, meaning, and belonging.

So now what? What does anything about Wayfinder and the activities we've done in class have to do with my procrastination and writing letters? Well, that's exactly the thing - it doesn't. But it's the tip of the iceberg above a bottomless sea of self-discovery that has allowed me to uncover my personal values.

It's been amusing to work on my improv skills and compete against my peers in a mass rock-paper-scissors tournament. But if I'm being honest, I don't care much about any of those and they seem to bore after enough time. However, despite their tedious appearances, these activities have illuminated a much more lively path that only enhances learning, making it much more meaningful and effective than any other experience a regular schooling system may try to replicate.

Project Wayfinder designed a focus that is unsurpassed in the world of learning. By placing self-discovery at the top of the hierarchy, above competition and uniform performance, the results are intrinsically motivated and authentic. This only demonstrates the power of a young and evolving mind, and the future holds a multitude of potential for those who are strong enough to find their purpose.