Op-Ed
Embracing History, Creating Our Own
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Second Opinion
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Amongst the picturesque gorges, ivy laced gothic buildings, and libraries filled with books, students explore the unique terrain. Meandering around campus, there are two intrinsic qualities that all students at Cornell, new and old alike, are bound by. Being a new student, like many others, I am solely trying to make my way around, get from class to class, to Collegetown and back. Returning students have survived this initial phase of exploration, and are now familiarized with the enormity of the Cornell campus. Beyond the faces of displacement and awkwardness of juvenility, to an outsider, like the astronaut circling earth, or the third grade student eying an ant farm, students of all standings appear as minute subjects, indistinguishable.
Cornell has a rich history and tradition that far supersedes any of us who currently roam its campus. From world leaders, prominent CEO’s, to renowned activists, Cornell graduates are amongst the crème de la crop in both American and international history. I would be doubtful of anyone who would proclaim to have reached such a pinnacle of achievement at this stage of their career.
But what are those two binding qualities that I mentioned? We are now all part of the history that is Cornell, members of a select group. Yet we are also all faced with the task of creating our own histories, paving our own legacies, and making ourselves more than just Net I.D’s. This is an overwhelming reality — but relax. Despite all the pressure there is uplifting opportunity and I figure they don’t call college the best four years of your life without reason. It is these four incredible years that very well might shape and define us, likely without our knowing that it is taking place.
Attempts at representing college in the media have become a cultural phenomenon. From Girls Gone Wild, to Old School, to posters advertising beer pong, college seems to be, as Jerry Seinfeld would call it, a “fantasy world.” In the lone year that I have had to experience it (I am a transfer sophomore), college has been an extremely enjoyable social experience. Though I have never gone streaking, nor have I met any girl who is dying to take her shirt off for a two dollar necklace, college affords great opportunities to experiment and socialize. However, there are many aspects of college that the media fails to, or more likely neglects to illustrate. I have never seen a documentary about John the student, who doodles his way through organic chemistry, or a movie about the overachieving student Suzie, who manages to find time for Hall Government, Varsity Volleyball, and film club. Never have I seen a poster showing students cramming in the library, or someone passed out face first in a book. As I quickly learned as a freshman, and continue to be reminded of every day, there is no way to define college, learn of its uniqueness, and fully understand its offerings, until you live it. The media will never be able to prepare us for the most important four years of our lives, and frankly, it’s better that way.
So who am I? What am I trying to say? And why should you care or listen? Well, I am college student. However, in this quality we share, we are entirely different. I am interested in politics, baseball, the stock market, I like classic rock, but I still could never tell you “who I am”. As of now, I have a desire to go to law school, but in the blink of an eye, that could change.
To be honest, that excites me, which is what college is all about. Most of what I learn in my statistics class I will never use in the real world. But who knows, maybe I will learn something, something of greater importance. Maybe that guy I borrowed a pen from sitting in the row behind me will teach me something, something I never knew, something I could never have read in a textbook. Cornell has more clubs in more areas than you would ever want to participate in. Most of them, however, bear no interest to me, nor do they probably bear any interest to you. However, what I refuse to do is rule anything out. Five years ago I couldn’t have told you I would meet a good friend playing golf, a game that back them seemed utterly pointless, uninteresting, and a complete waste of time. The reality is that five years from now, joining that club that you had no interest in, meeting someone despite a lack of apparent similarities, and doing something you never pictured yourself doing, could wind up being a defining piece of who you are. Cornell was here before us and will be here after us, as prestigious as it is now. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, E.B. White, Ann Coulter, Keith Olbermann, Bill Maher, and Christopher Reeve all have faced the same abundance of innumerable opportunity that we now have. So my message — Carpe Diem. College is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and never again will we have so many choices.
Why listen to me? You’re right; I have no vast knowledge, no great experience, and no clairvoyance to see the future. However, I know that in the grand scheme of things we all know relatively nothing, and in ten years there is at least a chance that we are completely different people than we see ourselves as now. Cornell has a history. It has since 1865. Now it’s turn to create our own histories, our own identities, and what better time than now?
Shaun Werbelow is a sophomore in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He can be reached at swerbelow@cornellsun.com. Second Opinion appears Wednesdays this semester.