February 14, 2025/Midnight
Erie, PA— Gannon University is home to over 2,000 students at any given time of year. Within this student body, a variety of different people exist. We are united through our pursuit of education at Gannon University. However, our differences may lie in our ages, career choices, races, faiths, or a plethora of other things. In every aspect that we are different, there is one where we are similar. In Roundtable, we explore the similarities and differences in the thoughts and opinions of Gannon students.
What makes life meaningful to you?
While some people spend their entire lives philosophizing this idea, this week, three students discussed this question. Khanh Le, a nursing student who will graduate in 2028 says that having a sense of achievement is very meaningful to her. She says, “I feel like it’s meaningful when I do something. Like, I just got a job…and it’s my first job, so I earn money, and I don’t need to use my parents’ money, and it’s kind of like, meaningful for me.”
She also mentions that learning, and having an education is meaningful to her. She adds, “In my class when I’m like, doing good, and I focus on what the teacher says, I feel like it’s better when I focus on them and listen to them…and learn something new also.”
Jaeda Whittaker, a sophomore majoring in physician’s assistant studies, says, “I would say that what makes life meaningful to me first is the people that I really love, so my friends and my family. I wake up and get excited to talk to them and see them.”
She also says, “And then secondly, the things that I enjoy doing personally, like just hobbies. I like working out and travelling and doing things like that. So that makes life meaningful, doing things that make me happy, and the people that make me happy.”
A sophomore studying psychology, Grace Parker, says that similarly, “What makes life meaningful for me would be like, how blessed I am to be able to wake up each morning and be able to get an education, and just my family and my friends, and knowing that I surround myself with people that really care about me and I care about and love, that is really what is meaningful for my life.”
She adds, “Also, I’d have to say that after that, I’d say like my hobbies too. I love to read and I love to play soccer, so I’d say that as well.”
While what makes life meaningful can be an overwhelming question to pinpoint a single answer, thinking about the aspects of life that bring us joy can often lead people to their response.
