Ben Luehrs

I met up with an old teammate from the WashU tennis team in Santa Monica this morning, and we had a lovely time reconnecting. We played some tennis at his friend’s condo courts, and we were pretty evenly matched, actually: just like old times. He lives in New York at the moment, working at a nonprofit. I thought he had gone to law school, but apparently not. I think he ended up going to an international public policy school at Columbia and now works for a firm in New York. I don’t really remember the specifics of it all, but it seems like he and I both sort of stepped away from the big money life of the corporations. Good for him and good for me. 

Ben and I weren’t particularly close in college because he was a year above me, and we moved in different circles, but perhaps we should’ve been. He is obviously a very intelligent and capable person and has done well so far. So have I, I guess. It’s interesting because at a school like WashU, everyone is sort of smart and driven. The only difference that people make is their choices in life. It’s the decisions we make that propel us in different directions: some are good, and some are not so good. It’s up to us to make choices that we think align with our values, and I’ve noticed that, with age, our choices and how we think about them begin to change as we encounter new information and experiences. 

Take money, for instance. If you attended a college like Washington University in St. Louis, it’s clear that you have what it takes to choose a life making a good amount of money. Yet, do you need that money? And do the material things that money buys you truly make you happy? For some people, I imagine the answer is yes. A materialistic life is perhaps all they know of and can afford with the skills bestowed upon them by God. However, for others, I’ve come to discover that life is not enough. In medical school, I felt this sort of emptiness associated with the profession. Yes, I was going to make a comfortable living helping people, but I was at the mercy and control of these healthcare corporations that, if you read my previous posts, I have a very negative view toward. 

To conclude, it was great to see Ben this morning. He offered me a spare bedroom to visit him in New York should the opportunity ever present itself, and I think I may take it if I get a chance. New York is obviously a place I would want to live, given the art scene there and the opportunities that I’m sure are present. I guess we’ll just have to see how my time in Los Angeles unfolds for now.