It's also not something you'll find by taking the Crimson Key tour or joining every club at the activities fair. It might catch you off-guard one night walking across the Yard late at night, or perhaps as you sit in the library studying for the 18th hour for your exam the next morning.

Harvard is more than the sum of its parts, it is a spirit of endeavor, challenge and intellectual breakthrough.

A few weeks ago there was an article "Harvard and Heroin" written by a Harvard grad, Seth Mnookin on www.salon.com. Though he didn't become addicted to heroin until after Harvard he talks of being drunk and high on marijuana for three out of his four years in college. Seth was eventually cured of his addiction, but as a student I was saddened that he had spent the majority of his time here passed out in his dorm room.

Unfortunately, it is perfectly possible to get good grades and graduate without having learned much of anything, and you don't even have to be an alcoholic or drug addict in order for it to happen. To ignore the Harvard experience, burying yourself in books, boyfriends (or girlfriends) or even (God forbid!) extracurriculars can occur without the use of outside agents.

This is your first year and it is intimidating, especially when you hear the lists of things you can do here, or the lists of things that other Harvard students have done. Thanks to a member of the Class of 2003, your classmates may have intimidated you even before you arrived.

I wouldn't listen to all of that. I said earlier that life isn't about money, and that life is about learning. So eat in every dining hall, meet your classmates, pay attention in the classes and in general soak up the atmosphere. You are a dry sponge--it is not necessary to save the world just yet, or dominate it either.

In fact, this is the only time in your life where you will not be challenged to account for your doings and goings-on simply because you are here. You are doing something important by coming here, something that will enrich your life tenfold through the classes you take, the people you meet and the relationships you forge.

If you could, you would probably try to live up to some idea of what the Harvard student is or does. Some of your classmates are already on that path. But if you refuse to be intimidated by the lists of extracurricular activities and awards that others will regale you with, you will find those things here that are meaningful to you.