Let’s assume this guy’s flooring company was basically modeled the same way as most other flooring companies, except it did things a little better, giving it an advantage in the market. Is that a less successful use of a Harvard education than something that produces broader “change” in the world, like founding Facebook?

We first have to look at the ways we evaluate the merits of change. We prefer big positive changes to small positive changes. Yet, not all changes are positive. Technological changes have produced great sources of energy as well as dangerous weapons of mass destruction. Sociopolitical changes are often lauded by one political party but criticized by another.

Let’s go back to our comparison. Assuming the flooring company provided better services and was run ethically, leading to its success, we could say it produced a small but positive change. On the other hand, Facebook’s invention was a much larger but more controversial change. The site is either connecting people like never before, or ruining social interaction, depending on who you ask. So which venture is more “successful?”

Honestly, I lean towards the latter (I like Facebook). But we must recognize that there’s no single answer. And I fear, in general, that our reverence for grand changes—the unchecked cult of worship surrounding those like Zuckerberg—can blind us to the merits of more modest, but surely good, change. We must always aim high, taking advantage of opportunities for great, positive change. But we must also remember that small, good steps can be just as honorable as large, ambiguous leaps.

As I departed from the plane, my conversation partner caught up with me and said, “You know, when I was in college, I had as much hair as you.” He’s bald. I laughed as we exited.

I hope that when I’m older and established in a career, I’ll feel successful. But for now, I’ll take my head, full of hair, with dreams up in the clouds, knowing I’ll be happy as long as I do something good with my life—even if that good ends up being closer to the floor.

Dashiell F. Young-Saver ’16, a Crimson editorial writer, is an English concentrator in Winthrop House.