Happy People at Harvard?

lackadaisy
Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:29:23 +0000

I’m a current freshman who made a choice between Harvard and a few rival institutions who claimed to have “happier” students (Yale?)… and, honestly, I feel like this is a useless thing to think about. You can be unhappy anywhere and happy anywhere depending on the things you take on and the choices you make, and I don’t mean this in a preachy way at all.

I wasn’t happy for a lot of first semester because I chose a class that was not right for me and took on too many activities. I had a terrible peer adviser but managed to make close friends anyway (hence: advising doesn’t matter). My roommates are nothing like me and there’s occasional tension but we transcend that (hence: roommate matches don’t matter). I was rejected from virtually every activity I wanted to join at first but built up a decent resume with activities I love anyway (hence: you’ll get over not being good enough).

Are there parties? Yes. I go occasionally. I’m not as sophisticated or posh as some previous posters, which might exclude me from the final club scene but the Crimson (newspaper) and IOP (political union) serve as alternate social hubs on campus as well.

This almost sounds truistic, but you’ll be happy if you choose to be. The work is overwhelming and the people are incredibly talented; the hoops are narrow and the competition has been jumping them for years; the food is mediocre and the housing (at least mine) is overcrowded. The preps are preppy, the snobs are snobby, the sluts are slutty, the jocks are stupid, the nerds are inept, and life goes on. :)