Pompous? Sure, but I'm the one with the English degree who doesn't go telling other people it was a waste of time, effort, or intellect to use the journey constructively. The point of the personal essay was to elevate his experience as some sort of ideal, off-hand, and I think that's incredibly insulting to people who grind day in and day out on what they love and can barely eat. It's one thing to talk about self-actualization when living hand-to-mouth, it's another when sitting on financial security.

"The only difference between crazy and eccentric is the size of the bank account."