Dear Readers,

    If you are old enough, you probably understand the importance of “networking.” It is defined as “the act of establishing a supportive system of sharing information and services between individuals and groups who have a common interest.”

    In other words, imagine meeting new friends and finding one another to be likeable and similar in tastes, and deciding to hang out together regularly. Now, place that scenario into a business context. Business networking seems to me to be calculated and contrived, forgoing the platonic aspects of friendship.

    But sadly, such networking seems to be a crucial, if not the central, part of entering the “real world.” Having a job and dealing with office politics is its most obvious manifestation, but at university, there are also “networking sessions” in which students try to arrange summer internships or full-time jobs upon graduation. There are salons, discussions and informal interviews. Networking is an unfortunate necessity if you want to succeed in any profession.

    The only upside, perhaps, is that the networks one forms while at university tend to be more innocent and based on genuine mutual affection. At Princeton or any of its sister institutions, mentorships in which students can seek honest advice from other students or alumni are a nudge to “success” at times, whatever your definition of that may be.

    More substantial than that, however, are the networks you might already be part of: your friends, classmates and teachers. My middle school teacher once lectured us on the importance of the friendships we make in middle and high school; those friendships were the most genuine and unconditional. Cherish true friendship. You will not understand the importance of it until you lose it.

    Sincerely, Laiyin