A typical dinner table conversation in the Roy household starts with how our day went, what plans we have for the week, a few funny anecdotes about the idiots we interact with (sorry idiots) and we ultimately end the dinner with a heated discussion either about politics, philosophy, or any book/movie. Although, this may make us seem like obnoxious wannabes who have an interest in perhaps vaguely resembling the Von Trapp family, it’s something that I really miss ever since I came to college.

In college, I am around a lot more like-minded people because we’re all in a similar age group and most of us have something in common, in which case, we should all have a lot to talk about. If I were to categorize us, I’d call us the "now" generation. As soon as there’s a software update, the older version is forgotten, as soon as there’s a new product launch, we discard the old one. We’re very attached to social media and instant gratification through technology at all times. We’re a fast-paced generation with an extreme amount of exposure to the rest of the world as we have access to a plethora of topics to discuss and ponder over. However, it is pitiful that all this access has ironically, negatively impacted our conversational skills.

"Talkative" would probably be the most accurate way to describe me, because I’ll participate in anything ranging from small talk to a serious and long conversation. I’ve always been the type to enjoy an engaging social life and my girlfriends and I definitely know how to throw it down. However, if we’re together during the day time, we always end up discussing some new branded bag, where we should go shopping or which guy we thought was cute. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely have my cute boy radar on at all times, but it would be incredible, if a conversation involved the Opium Wars or a controversial scandal about a bold feminist author.

We spend such an unhealthy amount of time discussing other people’s choices and trivial life decisions and spend a lot less time wanting to discuss issues that directly impact our life from a social standpoint. “Dude, did you hear she slept with that senior from Harvard?” or “I need to lose weight like ASAP, so I eat only one banana everyday.” Clearly, there are more pressing issues than another person’s sex life or someone’s diet chart (which, by the way I don’t want to hear about after eating a hamburger and fries).

Let’s not be those people anymore; let’s be the people that discuss firearm laws in America and genetic engineering in our food. Let’s have opinions and debates. Let’s discuss ideas and not people. Let’s take initiative and not critique those who already do. Let’s be the people that have the ability to indulge in something greater than ourselves.