Closer
Some people study to get closer.
Closer to power. Closer to influence. Closer to the people who decide.
So the rules are softer. So the doors open faster. So nothing important happens without them.
It feels practical. It feels smart.
And it builds weak places.
Because privilege doesn’t build capacity. It gathers it in one spot.
Talent waits outside. Ideas arrive filtered. Progress slows without anyone noticing.
There’s another choice.
Studying not to rise above others, but to lift the floor for everyone.
Not to get a seat at the table, but to make seats less scarce.
Equal societies aren’t generous.
They’re strong.
Study so closeness stops mattering.
Because systems don’t grow by who gets in.
They grow by who gets counted.