In the Eye of the Beholder...

I suppose people think of strange things at night, mulling over the day's events and wondering what they could have (or should have) done differently. Needless to say, I often find myself in such reveries.

Earlier, I had been working on a report, when my boyfriend asked if I would be able to visit with him that day. After deciding that this would be possible, we agreed that I would call him after I finished my report. Wishing me luck, he then told me (in another language) to "study well/beautifully." I paused at this short phrase.

Which would be more appropriate, to study well or to study beautifully? Someone can study well and ace the test. However, can the person apply what they learned to their own life? I don't believe this is always the case. The Merriam Webster Dictionary Online defines beauty as "the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit." I'd like to know how many college students think that studying would fall under that which gives them pleasure! But then there is a liberal arts education, in which students are taught to learn for the sake of learning itself. Maybe it is time that students begin viewing the art of studying in a different light. Maybe, just maybe, we should begin to study beautifully...