Tuesday night my girlfriend and I attended the New Measures concert in Stout Meeting House. New Measures is Earlham’s all female a cappella singing group, accompanied by Jacob’s fine beat boxing. The performance was as lovely and fun as ever. I have this habit though, when in performances of that nature, to scan the audience and note my peer's expressions and responses. Maybe it was the music, but as I scanned the crowd I was overcome with a sense of reflection. I started noticing all the seniors sitting around, men and women I’ve shared amazing times with from the moment I stepped on campus back in ’08.
The first month and a half of this semester I really haven’t been out and about that much. I had to finish comps (which I just got news I passed!) and then the weather got pretty miserable this week. I suppose when it comes to choosing only two of the three “S” (sleep, study, socialize), I’ve been sticking to my studies and catching up on missed sleep. Be it at high school, United World College, or Earlham, socialize has never been the one I sacrifice as it is my inherent belief that socializing with a large variety of people is one of the greatest means to opening up one’s perspective on life and their community. I felt guilty and realized the months left are dwindling and still so much time I want to spend with so many people.
The Huffington Post recently included Earlham in a list of Socially Awkward colleges. What a stupid term: “socially awkward.” I have my ticks, my peculiarities, my idiosyncrasies. Heck, in certain circumstances I’m sure Barack Obama himself can be a bit awkward. I wonder what the social norm is: being bland? If it were possible I would like to meet every student that the higher power (in this case Huffington Post) deems socially awkward because I know in them I’d find someone totally unique. “Socially awkward” is a problematic phrase that only serves to marginalize people in our communities that may not feel confident about being themselves. The more you concern yourself with arbitrary “norms,” the more you are going to miss out on in life.
Looking around that room, I realized the people I’ve spent my last four years contain a range or personalities, and hardly any would I say strive to be normal. They are diverse in their backgrounds, patterns of speech, interests, and habits. My college is inspiring because it is far from awkward, it encourages difference and provides a space for those commonly downtrodden in the social sphere; my college is a community for the socially explorative.
