Only Connect

In Professor Bill Cronin’s essay, The Ten Qualities of a Liberal Educated Person, he uses E.M. Forster’s injunction in the novel Howard’s End “Only connect” and states: “If one could pick just one phrase that would answer the question of what it means to be a liberally educated person surely this would be it: Only connect.” How does this statement relate to your motivation for earning a liberal arts degree? (500 word maximum)


The statement “Only Connect” that Professor Bill Cronin used in his essay, “The Ten Qualities of a Liberal Educated Person,” from E.M Forster’s novel Howard’s End, is an injunction that motivates me to earn a liberal arts degree in variety of ways. To connect is to be able to express yourself through your knowledge and past experiences to help you communicate with your surrounding. The better understanding you have of variety of subjects, the easier it becomes to blend in with society and relate to those around you. A liberal education helps you become stable with confidence and positively affects your life in the future. It is greatly important to comprehend the concept of obtaining a degree that has the mere purpose of letting you become more aware of your surroundings to live a life with lesser obstacles.
Many students aim to obtain a specific degree towards their intended career and life goals because it seems more convenient. People choose to only learn about what they think they will directly benefit from, rather than considering knowledge as a tool that can help them live their live every single day. A liberal arts degree reveals opportunities to explore your wide range of interests and skills. With such awareness, you can broaden your line of thinking and use your curiosity to your advantage. Every person deserves the chance to gain an education that provides them the information they need in more than one particular subject. For example, a student may have the strongest desire to be involved in the medical field. Therefore, the student will be seeking a medical degree, assuming it’s the only solution that makes sense. Eventually, if he/she decides to make adjustments or changes to general career goals, it would become quite difficult. What the student needs to realize is, gaining such a degree limits an individual to what they can accomplish later on during their lifetime.
The actual phrase, “only connect” refers to the way you can use a liberal arts degree to become informative in more than one area. You can gain a complete understanding in not only academic subjects, but also areas such as music and art. Everyone has different goals and potential to achieve those goals. The way to accomplish great things and succeed, you have to be able to recognize more than one concept. The whole idea of gaining a liberal education is so you can appreciate life every day and be able to connect with those around you. Diversity is important because wide range of interests lets people unite despite their differences. Without a liberal arts degree, it becomes almost impossible to relate to those around you with a complete understanding. To connect is to bond with the world through the knowledge you have gained and experiences that have widened your perspective on life.






Out of all the extracurricular, community service or employment activities I’ve participated in, The Humanities Club has been the most meaningful to me due to the greatest effect it has made in my life. By being part of this club, I’ve been able to devote my time to helping my peers, the community, and many people around the world. I’ve realized the hardships people face, which have made me thankful for all that I have. Therefore, I’ve volunteered for non-profiting organizations such as Hunger Task Force, American Red Cross, and AmeriCares to help those suffering from poverty, hunger, and sickness. Members of this club have set aside their differences in order to help men, women, and children that are in need of our help. Due to poverty, thousands of people starve to death because food isn‘t provided for them. I’ve coordinated many food-drives in school through the Hunger Task Force to defeat world hunger. Through the American Red Cross, I’ve coordinated Shoe Box Christmas, where boxes are filled with toys and necessary school items for children in poverty. AmeriCares is also a non-profiting organization that I’m still volunteering for by sending in healthy kid kits to various countries. These kits include supplies encouraging better hygiene for children suffering through trauma. All of these volunteering services have led me to care even more about the worldly issues that surround us. One of my goals has become to end poverty and spread awareness in issues dealing with poverty, world hunger, and sickness.