Pepperdine aims to strengthen students “for lives of purpose, service, and leadership.” And that sounds great. That tripartite phrase is bandied about in our school’s literature, and one can hardly move for the amount of service and leadership preached here. But too many neglect purpose — the literal reason for doing anything at all.
Real purpose is not a burden or an obligation, but a joy. The purpose Pepperdine intends for us is joyous because it leads to service and leadership.
I know that sounds vague and preachy. That’s because we think purpose must be conspicuous. I have a friend who goes to Purdue and aims to welcome freshmen at orientation with Boiler spirit. He has made hundreds of freshmen feel at home and now leads the orientation program. Purpose, service and leadership. Done.
But I believe even small purposes can lead to service and leadership, because service and leadership can be more inconspicuous.
I aim to enjoy learning, and I have seen that purpose lead to service and leadership, albeit on a tiny scale. When I heard about physiognomy in my literature class, I remembered it. Not only does the word sound funny, but judging character by physical appearance is an interesting concept. Lo and behold, my roommate was writing a paper on theatrical archetypes and I was able to point him in the direction of physiognomy. I provided him a small service by helping guide his research a little.
This is where purpose bleeds into another Pepperdine buzzword — vocation. This is supposed to be an abiding purpose that transcends mere occupation and guides someone through life. If I considered “making learning enjoyable” to be my vocation, I would probably pursue a teaching position and serve and lead students that way.
But avocations are purposes too. My other roommate wants to be a lawyer, but is also a Japanophile. His love of samurai movies and anime has not only spread to his friends, but it even got him involved in a foreign exchange student program. That’s evidence of an incidental purpose, enjoying all things Japanese, leading to service and leadership.
Purpose, service and leadership doesn’t work in reverse. Leading people and serving others because you think you’re supposed to is purposeless. This is not what Pepperdine intends and, more importantly, it hurts you. Investing your time without a reason of your own is ultimately exhausting and unrewarding. Why would my Japanophile roommate lead a foreign exchange student program if he had no interest in other cultures? Would helping my other roommate with his paper on theatrical archetypes out of guilt really help either of us?
There’s a great episode of “Futurama” where Hermes, the Jamaican bureaucrat, sings, “When push comes to shove, you got to do what you love — even if it’s not a good idea.” On the surface, this is wrong. Making up your own purpose and pursuing bad ideas just because they appeal to you isn’t good for anyone. I think, however, there is truth in this rhyme. What may seem like boring ideas or dead-ends can lead to service and leadership. I didn’t know remembering physiognomy would help my roommate write his paper. My other roommate didn’t know his love of Japan would lead to helping Japanese students experience America. New Student Orientation and Project Serve aren’t the only ways to serve purposefully.
