By Kyra-lin Hom

Hello all. I'm writing to you from Seoul, South Korea. Me and mine quite literally just landed after an 11 hour flight and are now taking a seriously pimped out tour bus (the ceiling is quilted leather) to a little area known as Gangnam. You may have heard of it. I'll finally get to see how reality compares to Psy's portrayal in his internationally famous song “Gangnam Style.” I will, however, try to refrain from doing his horse-riding dance down the street. No promises, though.

It's admittedly difficult to concentrate on any topic in particular. I'm quite positive my higher brain functions melted away after in-flight movie number three, but I'll give it a shot. Please forgive any loopy-ness that may sneak its way in (more so than usual, that is).

Being in a completely different, foreign country for the first time is mind-tingling. Glazed over and sleep deprived though I may be, I can still very much feel the otherness in my bones. I know I'm somewhere new and at the cusp of a fresh adventure. I am excited! And not afraid to express it.

As I've grown into adulthood, I've begun to lose my empathy with jaded cynicism. It still clings to me like the sludge monster from Ferngully, but I do my best to beat it back. Moments like this one (driving across the 4th longest bridge in South Korea against a night backdrop of glittering downtown and joking with friends while U.S. top hits from the late 80's play over the loudspeakers of our pink-lit bus) certainly help. You can't make that stuff up.

Cynicism may be the cool attitude of the twenty-first century, but in my experience it's nothing but a party pooper. Not to be mistaken for skepticism, a doctrine of questioning otherwise accepted truths, cynicism is the belief that all entities are only motivated by self-interest or the doubting of something's reliability and value altogether. Skepticism digs at the truth with purpose. Cynicism doesn't see the point of trying. It is negative and indulgent and easy.

I feel myself back-sliding into that mindset all the time, especially in regards to my personal job prospects and American politics. But more often I find my cynicism to be induced by my college classes. That is no coincidence.

As more of my friends end up in graduate school and as I'm beginning to look into that material myself, I've noticed that undergrad, by comparison, is all but designed to create cynics. Undergraduate education as a whole is all about peeling back the curtain, exposing the charlatan behind the magic. It exposes us to the entrenched, hidden, broken elements of the systems that comprise our society. But it often does so without also teaching us about the good, the history and the potential practically viable solutions.

For example, my post-baccalaureate criminal justice undergrad classes are full of students citing that we can combat crime by improving our nation's family values, but not one of them can propose a way to do that (assuming such a thing would work). We're essentially presented with massive social problems in such a way that they seem insurmountable. And when you're faced with unsolvable problems over and over again, it takes an incredible person not to fold. Most of us are not that resilient.

Though I'm mentioning college, it's certainly not the only place this attitude is found. So how are we supposed to stay positive and motivated in this pervasive negative atmosphere? Treat every issue like a puzzle: one piece at a time. And don't get discouraged. Every little step is an accomplishment. Every little joy is a blessing.