In almost every graduation ceremony, whether it's in a muggy stadium that’s too hot or in a stuffy auditorium that’s too cold, we’ve heard basically the same message drilled into our heads: stand out, be different and/or make a change.
Whichever message you get is always specifically tailored to each graduation, but besides the location and level of education, graduation speech’s themes tend to be pretty cookie-cutter. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. I honestly heard no distinguishable difference between the superintendent’s speech to my graduating high school class of 2016 (Go Marauders, y’all) and Peter Dinklage’s address to Bennington College.
It’s truly ironic how similarly these messages advocating for free self-expression are fed to us year after year. Unfortunately, these messages tend to carry a sense of urgency with them. They seem to rush students into identities they might not be ready for or aware of yet.
This tainted message of standing out is everywhere; it’s effectively poisoned our waterways and our nation’s young minds. Sadly, it has paved the way for a generation of students actively forcing themselves to be different. College gives students the unique chance to start over. This opportunity gives people room to reinvent themselves, a huge undertaking that comes as both an exciting and daunting task.
At Carolina, this pressure to stand out is partly a result of attending such a large university like Carolina. With a population of nearly 30,000 students, I can understand the appeal of organizing dance marathons or donning a monochromatic wardrobe in attempts to find a clique or distinguish yourself from the mob.
Students are constantly being pushed to define themselves outside of their role as students. For the more fortunate and self-aware among us, defining themselves outside of their work comes easily. The rest of us are left to scavenge on our own.
UNC makes it easy to commit yourself to one-to-many organizations. This can be a blessing and a curse. In my first year here and in an effort to form any sort of identity outside of being a student, I joined CUAB, one of the biggest student organizations on campus. In an attempt to stand out and break away from the mold, I forced myself to conform. I quit after my first semester.
So go ahead, if you know what you want, who am I to stop you? Stand out, be different, kick you shoes off and wave your shirt around. If not, join the club, not CUAB, but the club of people who have absolutely no clue what they want right now. You’re not alone, and there’s nothing wrong with a lacking a little self-knowledge.
