No Monopoly On Truth (#37)

What I learned in the Ivy League about writing and being human

At the time of writing this article, my eyes have been glazed over for 90 minutes, and my mind has wandered everywhere except to the point my professor is trying to make.

I’m taking an online class at an Ivy League university. It’s part of a graduate program I decided to undertake to prove something to myself. And, I think I’ve found something different than I sought: Truth doesn’t belong to anyone.

But it belongs to all of us.

Let me explain.

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A Tale of Two Brothers

When we graduated high school, my best friend and I parted ways. He went to Harvard to study economics, and I went to a small Christian school in Texas to run track and study the Bible. He found a home in prestigious Cambridge, and I chased around tumbleweeds in the Wild West.

Secretly, I resented the split in our paths — not because I didn’t want my friend to succeed at an acclaimed university, but because I doubted my ability to succeed in the same way. I wondered if I could do it, too. And I was terrified that I couldn’t.

As time went on, it became obvious that my friend made the right decision for himself. He won a plethora of academic awards and became deeply involved in the Harvard community, which connected him to unique (and lucrative) professional opportunities post-graduation. I was happy for him.

However, clarity never came that I had made the right decision for myself. In fact, things got hard. My life during and after college was hard, fraught with relational and financial struggles. I reconsidered my path many times and felt deeply insecure that I had a wrong choice somewhere along the line.

So, in the fall of 2024, I decided to do it. I applied to and enrolled in a graduate program at an Ivy League. I wanted to know whether I could do what my friend had done, but more importantly, whether I had chosen the right path.

Almost two years have passed. In that time, I’ve written research papers, taken midterms, and collaborated with peers on all kinds of projects. And I’ve succeeded. To date, I’ve maintained a high GPA and earned the respect of my teachers.

But the experience hasn’t been what I thought it would be.