ARTS
THE HARVARD CRIMSON APRIL 14, 2023
BOOKS
EDITOR’S PICK:
Harvard Authors Spotlight: Waldinger and Schulz
‘OUT’ PREVIEW: AN EXPERIENCE LIKE NEVER BEFORE
BY ANDREW K. CHOE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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n its 85 years, the Harvard Study of Adult Development — the longest running longitudinal study on adult happiness — has found that there is a clear answer to what makes a joyful and fulfilling life. In the first few pages of their recent book, “The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness,” the study’s co-directors Dr. Robert J. Waldinger ’73 and Dr. Marc Schulz plainly state, “Good relationships keep us healthier and happier. Period.” The Harvard Study of Adult Development began in 1938, with the intention of “investigating not what made people sick but what made them thrive.” The original 724 subjects were young men and boys from the Boston area chosen from two populations: 268 were Harvard undergraduates and 456 were from Boston’s inner-city and disadvantaged neighborhoods. Subjects agreed to answer a thorough set of survey and interview questions every two years. Collected over hundreds of lifetimes, the biennial check-ins constructed detailed portraits of participants’ health using emotional wellbeing surveys, medical tests, and biographical interviews. These interviews are prominently featured in “The Good Life,” and to powerful effect. The authors vividly describe intimate conversations that participants had with researchers and loved ones, in which they express vulnerable reflections that affirm the importance of relationships. In one moving example from the book, an elderly couple expressed to each other that their greatest fear is the other’s death and the loneliness that would ensue. This focus on personal stories makes “The Good Life” a compelling read. Unlike other books in the self-help genre that seek to address today’s historically high levels of loneliness with statistics, psychological jargon, and todo lists, “The Good Life” lets the rich life stories of the study speak for themselves. Within a few hundred pages, readers see dozens of rich lives unfold, each of which illuminates the complexities of building and maintaining healthy relation-
ships. An ambitious Harvard student compromised on his career goals to support his family after his parents’ deaths; his lifelong commitment to caring for others helped him to lead one of the happiest lives in the study. Readers can also track how a young woman’s coming out caused her family to fall apart then grew back together, from the perspectives of multiple family members. Insightful commentary and useful tools for assessing readers’ personal relationships further supplement these stories. Both Waldinger and Schulz’s experiences led them to devote their lives to exploring human happiness. Waldinger studied History of Science as a Harvard undergraduate before entering Harvard Medical School. At medical school, Waldinger found psychiatry a natural fit for his interest in personal histories. In addition to directing the Harvard Study since 2010, Waldinger is a clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School as well as a practicing psychiatrist and Zen priest. For Schulz, he recalls that he was a “neuroscience guy” in his first couple years at Amherst College. After realizing that a bigger-picture view of people’s lives was more interesting, he majored in sociology and pursued a career in policy and community-organizing. Yet, he still sought a more direct means of interacting with
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er and Schulz shared a smile and referred to a TED Talk that Waldinger gave in 2016. The presentation went viral, amassing almost 23 million views. “Going viral showed us that there’s a real hunger for this kind of information. People want to know, what does science say about who thrives as they go through life?” Waldinger recalled. As is often the case in academia, results from the Study on Adult Development often remained hidden in journals, motivating Waldinger and Schulz to write “The Good Life” for a larger audience to benefit from their work. Although the correlation between strong relationships and happiness may seem like common sense, the authors explain that the challenge arises from humans’ irrationality and inability to predict what will make them truly happy. “There’s been a movement in psychology for quite a while now to try and capture the thinking mistakes we make, the illogical conclusions and assumptions we make,” Schulz said. In line with this tradition, “The Good Life” seeks to dispel the pervasive and harmful misconception that relationships can take care of themselves while other goals like wealth and fame take priority. Waldinger and Schulz found that like any other investment, relationships struggle when left unattended. Waldinger marveled
Going viral showed us that there’s a real hunger for this kind of information. People want to know, what does science say about who thrives as they go through life? Robert J. Waldinger ’73 Harvard Medical School professor
people and earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. Schulz has co-directed the Harvard Study with Waldinger since 2014; he is also a professor of psychology at Bryn Mawr College and a practicing psychologist. In an interview with the Harvard Crimson, when asked about their motive for compiling key findings from the study in a published book, Walding-
at the consistency with which the study revealed that “the people who were the happiest, the healthiest, all that good stuff were the people who were more active, who were more intentional” about making relationships. The book’s illustrative case studies and reflective tools encourage readers to commit more deeply to pre-existing relationships. For readers looking for a fresh start, “The Good Life” features
stories that offer plenty of guidance on life’s serendipity with a growth mindset. “What we find from studying these people through their lives is that things happen when we least expect it,” Schulz said. He then referenced one of his favorite psychological experiments: people consistently predict that talking with a stranger on a train will be an unpleasant experience. Yet, the vast majority of experiment subjects, when instructed by a psychologist to speak to a stranger, rated the interaction as a positive, energizing experience. People may believe that they are set in their ways and know what will make them happy, but research finds that any opportunity to build connections can be valuable. Amidst the dozens of relationships described in “The Good Life”, one in particular stands out — Waldinger and Schulz’s bond as collaborators and lifelong friends. Chapters often end with anecdotes from the co-authors’ lives to illustrate how they have supported each other through life’s milestones and challenges. Their friendship also manifests in the book’s warm, easy-going tone that makes readers feel invited into this rich friendship. The two met 30 years ago, as co-workers on another longitudinal study on happiness. To nurture their initial connection, Waldinger and Schulz have made the effort to spend at least 90 minutes with each other every week over the past 30 years. Schulz remarked that Waldinger has served as an invaluable older brother figure. Waldinger further added that the relationship has been incredibly sustaining professionally and personally: “Finding good collaborators is really just a huge benefit. Mark and I each have different strengths, and we do things together we could never do by ourselves. Besides the friendship, there is this kind of fitting together of different abilities that really makes a difference.” It’s no wonder, then, that “The Good Life” focuses on the power of relationships — it is an undeniable truth, supported by decades of research and the authors’ lifelong friendship. Through touching anecdotes and practical tools, this book empowers readers to make an active commitment to both maintaining existing relationships and building new connections.
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COURTESY OF KALOS K. CHU
In comes “OUT,” an original student musical directed by Kalos K. Chu ’23 and presented by the Harvard College Asian Student Arts Project that incorporates the ingredients which make musicals brilliant without sacrificing sincerity, writes contributing writer Benji L. Pearson. Based on the book of the same name by Chu, music by Ian Chan ’23, and lyrics by JuHye Mun ’23, “OUT” has its main characters perform stunning three-part harmonies in one moment, before play-tripping and laughing at jokes meant as much for each other as they are for the audience in the next. In its short run time at the Agassiz Theatre from April 7 through April 9, “OUT” promises to deliver on the aspects of musical theater that fans enjoy while also telling a story that feels incredibly real.
HARVARD AUTHORS SPOTLIGHT: ANTHONY CHIN-QUEE ’05
COURTESY OF JONATHAN BANGLE
Chin-Quee uses this work to share the reality of the messiness of the medical training experience and to speak to those who, like him, felt alone in their experience, writes contributing writer Selorna A. Ackuayi. In his book, Chin-Quee speaks candidly about residency’s effects on his mental health, discussing his struggles with depression throughout residency. Chin-Quee even delves into mental health struggles in his family history, exploring them in light of how medicine’s efforts to drive him to “rock bottom” allowed him to recognize the ways in which he needed to take care of his mental health.
Expressions ‘The X Factor’: An Energetic Hip-Hop Showcase BYANNA MIKHAYLYANTS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Body Rolls. A performance by the Harvard Whistler’s Society. Nicki Minaj. A laughing skit and hiphop routine to 21 Savage x Metro Boomin’s “Runnin.” What do these seemingly unrelated qualities have in common? All were features of Harvard’s Expressions’ Spring 2023 Showcase: “The X Factor.” The Harvard Expressions Dance Company is a fully student-operated hip-hop dance group that’s been on campus for over forty years. Each semester, the organization hosts a dance showcase featuring over a dozen dances all choreographed and performed by undergraduates at the College. With two emcees, this year’s showcase also featured performances from the Harvard Whistler’s Society as well as the Harvard Lowkeys. Collectively, the showcase serves attitude and hip-hop moves to some of the top rap and hip-hop hits. Aditi Kona ’26 shared her reasons for attending the showcase this semester. “So I went first semester for the first one to support a friend but I think that it’s a really niche, very cool part of Harvard like dance, art, and media, and something that I’m not exposed to a lot
so I want to get more into it,” Kona said. As Expressions is one of the most prominent performing art groups at Harvard, Kona also spoke about the arts scene at Harvard. “I think Harvard puts a lot of money into STEM, Econ, and Gov and maybe not as much attention into dance and they do not pub it as much although they definitely should,” said Kona. The hip-hop group is open to students of all years and experience levels. Layla Chaaraoui ’26 who joined Expressions in her freshman fall spoke about her experience in the dance company. “I have been dancing since I was seven years old and hip-hop has always been my favorite style of dance so Harvard Expressions was something I actually seeked out before I came to Harvard,” said Chaaraoui. “I was looking for different hip-hop groups and companies and Expressions came up. And I absolutely loved what they did, loved their style, and I loved their vibe. I absolutely knew this was something I wanted to be a part of so I joined it last semester and loved it and I did it again this semester and loved it again.” Chaaraoui also shared the communal passion for hip-hop she continuously feels amongst Expressions members.
“I think it’s a great community and I just love getting to dance. Hip-hop is my favorite style so I love being able to dance with so many other people also passionate about it. And I love that they accept all levels and backgrounds. So, it is just a really fun group to be a part of and it has really helped me find my space here,” Chaaraoui said.w Th Expressions dances are fully choreographed by students. May Jung ’25 started with the company last year and is now a Direx, an executive board position of the company who organizes and leads company productions. This year, she led the NewRex dance, allowing incoming dancers with less experience to perform in the showcase. “We oversee the entire performance and the company,” Jung said. “For example, my role was taking care of the Directors’ piece which is a piece for beginner dancers to the hip-hop scene and just anyone who is learning dance for the first time or wants to like to take it back, take it slow,” said Jung. “Another cool feature of our Directors’ piece is whoever wants to get a taste of choreographing for the first time can submit either a few seconds of a choreo piece or an entire 1-2 minute choreo for a Directors’ piece.
So, I am in charge of that part for the Directors’ team. So I was a choreographer as well as a director for this show.” The spring showcase put on by Expressions welcomed all types
of performing artists from whistlers, to acapella singers, and most importantly, hip-hop dancers. The company puts on one showcase every semester, al-
lowing students to fully express themselves through a variety of songs with hard basses, dabble in choreography, and even lead their own dances as members of the executive board.
COURTESY OF AIYANA G. WHITE
