Though it may seem like the days of reading long complicated novels are over, I still find myself reading The Great Gatsby every now and then. I try my best to look past some of the more common, widely known messages of the novel. Yes, its important to not let the past ruin you. Yes, its also important not to lie about where you went to college. But throughout discussions, I find that no one pays attention to one really really important message.

Karma.

The blue, large eyes on the billboard may seem creepy at first, but represent a very important message to not only the book, but college life as well. Perspective is everything. To some, the billboard may represent the "eyes of God", looking upon the world as its most honorable judge. But outside of religion, I find it (as a symbol) to bring light to the fact that we as individuals under estimate the power of karma.

In the most simple form, karma imposes a direct cause-and-effect system. For every good action an individual does, he/she will be rewarded with something good in their life. In contrast, for every repugnant, disrespectful act someone does, he/she will be condemned in some way.

In Gatsby, we saw this when Jay tried to convince the other characters that he went to Oxford University (in England), when he really went to a low-class university in the West Coast. As a result of his deceit, Daisy turned away from him, and chose to be with Tom. This was probably one of the most heartbreaking moments of the entire novel, and was caused by the central characters not accepting the consequences of their actions.

But why should we care about this, today?

Because today, we deal with the impact of karma daily. It doesn't matter our action, whether that to be large or small.

Our shameful actions-whether that be retorting something disrespectful, leaving friends out of hanging out, or (as small as) not holding the door out for someone with crutches, will at some point be given a consequence.

We may think we are funny, we may want to just see one friend over the other, or we may just be having a bad day, but it serves absolutely no excuse for transferring our attitudes, into negligent actions.

I can't tell you how many times I have personally done something wrong this semester, and have used the excuse of a "bad day" to cover it up. Whether that was during syllabus or finals week, we have all been caught doing something wrong, even in its most minute form.

The time for that is merely over.

And so with the "sunshine" and "great bursts of leaves", I urge you to find a few ways to incorporate the idea of god karma within your mind. In the midst of stress and anger, find relief through exerting positivity onto others. Try your best to compliment at least two people each day, and find beauty in the smiles, laughs, and hugs of other people who are struggling in the same way you are. Moreover, think of the consequences associated with every action you take, and use it as a filter process before responding in any way. I hope that in good karma, you find the peace within yourself to willfully want to be a better person in your college, community, and world. Your small action can transfer into a better grade on an exam, a job offer from your dream place, or even an award from your college.

So we "beat on", hopefully with our boats "against the current" of negativity, moving towards a future full of good people, committing good karma.