Andreas Hewitt

Honors 100 AB
9 October 2011
Early Reflection
I applied to the honors program for conventional reasons, because it was a challenge, and it
seemed it would boost my academic prestige and pad my resume. I do not doubt that it will do
these things, but after reading New Yorker columnist David Brooks Social Animal I am
rethinking the real purpose of the honors program. David Brooks, speaking from the point of his
fictional protagonist Harold writes, Hed been taught to think vertically, moving ever upward,
whereas maybe the most productive connections were horizontal, with peers. In retrospect I
believe a valuable part of joining the honors program will be the close community of academic
mentors and peers. Isaac Newton proclaimed that If I have seen further, it is by standing on the
shoulders of giants. It is only by building a solid base of wisdom together, that each of us can
stand tall and rise individually. The honors program brings together a team of strong individuals
to build this foundation, and the energy I have already felt from them is inspiring. I expect to be
an engine of change for the University of Washington. Not only does the honors program seem to
expect hard intellectual labor, in order to build a collective foundation of knowledge, it appears
to demand a high degree of originality and creativity. Again David Brooks alludes to this in his
article, commenting on the importance of distinguishing between mental strength (the
processing power of the brain) and mental character (the mental virtues that lead to practical
wisdom). Most honors students already possess the necessary mental strength to be successful,
and it is the mental character that we must be diligent in exploring, expanding and sharing. We
cannot begin to build this foundation of experience and knowledge without first reaching out to
one another. The honors program already provides a smaller social pool within the university to
engage in, making connecting with peers easier. David Brooks points out that People generally
overestimate how distinct their own lives are, so the commonalities seem to them a series of
miracles. By taking a leap of faith, introducing oneself, discovering those ordinary shared
values, interests and goals we can begin to build something larger than any one persons intellect
could construct. We have all been selected because of a unique strength, and by making
connections we can pool our resources, and begin the process of establishing academic
excellence, but most importantly, making friends that will keep us ground in values, interests,
and love. Brooks tells us that Research over the past thirty years makes it clear that what the
inner mind really wants is connection. More than stellar marks or a shining career ahead what I
would like to take away from the University of Washington are good friends. I hope that the
honors program is a place to meet interesting, diverse, and thinking people, who will open a new
door to academics, careers, and lifelong relationships.