Like last semester, this column will focus on Harvard students' dedication to social and community causes. But jumping right into students' activities here would be disingenuous without first reflecting upon the most frequently asked question on campus during the past two weeks:

How was your summer?

When people ask this question, they don't really want or expect more than a one or two word reply, usually an adjective best reserved for fellowship applications: fulfilling, inspiring, perhaps challenging for the even-handed. People usually don't stick around long enough to ask you a follow-up and if they do it usually only requires another few monosyllabic proper names and places.

How many people have asked you, in line at the Coop or at the drink machine in the dining hall:

How has this summer--and its experiences, new people, new places and new activities-- changed you?

I suspect that one of the most influential parts of the summertime for most of us was our sudden submersion in the real world. By using this loaded term, I am not referring to the current MTV hit, although I am not sure that torrid romances and too much alcohol caused summertime regret. Nor am I alluding to the famous Cosby show episode where Theo must face taxes, jobs and rent, all the responsibilities of the "real world," although I am sure many of us got a big kick out of playing grown up: renting an apartment, hosting dinner parties and bringing in the big bucks.

By real world, I refer to an existence that hinges on a reality far removed from the first-year activities fair, sold-out Susan Faludi tickets, resume workshops, concentration credits and building common room partitions.

Specifically, the real world entails real jobs and real concerns but mainly it means learning how to interact with real people.