I get by with a little help from my friends…

 

So I hate the “G” word. You know the one. That thing that comes at the end of 4 (or 5) years after high school or college. I don’t think it would be so bad if I knew what I wanted to do, or if I had the time to search out options. However, right now I am looking down the road towards May and I do not like what I see. Perhaps the scariest part of life after UNC is that I might not see some of these people again. I have a bad habit of misusing the terms “forever” or “never” or “always”, but in life after college, 5 or 10 years can feel like forever. Not speaking to or seeing someone you have interacted with everyday for the better part of 4 years for that amount of time is forever.

I think back to where I was when I entered this place. I consider my viewpoints and my expectations. And then I have to pause and wipe my eyes because I am laughing too hard. So much has changed and I have learned so much.

If you were to ask me the one thing that has influenced me the most during my time here, my answer would very quickly be “people.”

I have learned next to nothing from books and power points. Quizzes and exam have only forced a shallow knowledge of things deemed important by professors who are much more concerned with research for their personal projects than for the education of a room full of sophomores.

People always say that the things you remember from college are the times when you stayed up all night with a group of friends going crazy studying for an exam. Or the time when you took that road trip at 10pm to the beach just to see the sunrise the next morning. Or midnight swimming at the pool. Or talking until 4am with a friend about nothing and everything at the same time. You won’t remember the first or second time you got a C on a paper or what was said in Media Law on any give Tuesday or Thursday.

For me its not even those “life lesson” that I full heartedly thank my friends for. It is the opinions and viewpoints on pertinent issues they have shared and sometimes forced upon me, for which I am truly grateful.

I come from a very conservative home. Both my parents are teachers so I was opened up to a world of history and tradition via vacations to battlefields and living history sites. We would watch the news every night (well my father would turn it on and I would promptly ignore it). But like any child I relied on my parents to guide me in issues and views on the world-at least in my first years of actual understanding. Because of their republican tendencies and up-bringing they showed a very “right” opinion on most things, and like any good obedient child I followed right along.

It was in high school when I first began to question my “Republican” views. Things traditionally rejected and insulted by this right viewpoint started to hit closer to home and become personal, as they highlighted situations that my friends and family found themselves in. I began to realize that the things I began to argue about with my parents were key frustrations and not just trivial differences.

Carolina is a liberal place. But I found myself surrounded by young adults with both conservative and liberal ideals. I wasn’t forced to think one way by friends that had left tendencies. Instead, a constant, diverse dialogue about big issues and minute issues surrounded me. It pushed me to sort out what I felt and rationally decide where I stand. From environmental issues, politics in general, health care to abortion and the economy, I have been forced to create my own views, to figure out what I want to stand for and what I see as moral and good.

I don’t always agree with those around me. Some of the best conversations I’ve had here have been about religion with a self-proclaimed agnostic. Quality conversation comes when there are different backgrounds and viewpoints. Not only does it have the potential to open you up to a brand new perspective, it also forces you to defend your own stance and review what you actually believe.

 

Forgive the composition and wording of this post. It was written over a period of days and perhaps isn’t my best writing. However, I think what I ultimately want to emphasize is that my friends have been my education. They have been more important and useful than my textbooks. From them I have learned not only about the world and history, but about myself and how I fit into a larger picture.

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. -Confucius

Thanks guys!