Why did you choose to go to college?
On paper, college is a stepping stone towards a career and the rest of your life; merely a bridge from point A to point B. However, college offers us much more than a degree–it offers an experience. It is a unique time where students have the opportunity to grow intellectually, individually and socially more than at any other point in their lives. For students like Antonia Carlsson, college is a place where she can enjoy new cultural experiences and explore all that the world has to offer. Antonia is a first-year student at Northwestern University whose childhood spent living in England and various other countries have sparked a passion for both cultural and academic exploration, which has led her to attend one of America’s most prestigious universities.
The American Excess of “Pep”
During her time studying at Northwestern University, Antonia Carlsson has been fully immersed in American culture–a more chatty and outgoing social environment than what she was accustomed to back in the United Kingdom. When I asked Antonia about how students from the U.S. differ from her friends back in the U.K., she summed up her perception of the American student in a single word: “peppy.” Antonia remarks that her friends in the United States are much more outgoing and outwardly expressive than her friends back in the U.K. “We all have resting b*tch faces 90% of the time,” she jokingly remarks about her fellow Brits. According to Antonia, this American “pep” is apparent even in the most seemingly mundane of social interactions. “For example,” she explains, “We would never go up to a stranger and say ‘I like your shirt,’ but for most Americans, such an exchange is nothing out of the ordinary.” It isn’t that the British or anti-social or don’t know how to have a good time. On the contrary, Antonia assured me that if we went to a British pub in the UK with a few of her friends, we would be sure to have an exciting and lively social experience. What is different about the social environments between these two cultures is, according to Antonia, that in the U.K there is “a set time or place” when she and her friends partake in more socially excitable behavior, whereas in America it “seems to be more ongoing.”
American Conversation Etiquette… or Lack Thereof
When it comes to conversing with her friends in the United States, Antonia has experienced some difficulty adjusting to the average American’s lack of filter. Growing up primarily in England, Antonia is accustomed to English etiquette with its many unspoken rules regarding social interaction. British conversation etiquette requires that you never speak more than the other person with whom you are conversing; never stay on the same topic of conversation for too long, and maintain proper posture when speaking to adults and superiors. Not only are the British superior in conversation etiquette, but they are also immune to the irrational fear of awkward silence that afflicts many Americans. As Americans, we tend to talk incessantly during any social interaction for fear of uncomfortable silence. For most of us, 5 minutes of silence can feel like 30 minutes. But for the British, long lulls in conversation are completely acceptable when spending time with peers. One of Antonia’s biggest pet peeves with Americans stems from this need for constant conversation. According to her, Americans can turn a mundane story that should only last 5 minutes into an hour-long conversation. For Antonia, this is “bloody annoying–just change the blooming subject!” She explained that in the U.K. it is considered rude for someone to continue talking about a mundane subject past a reasonable time that it should take to mention it.
Education: U.K. vs U.S.
The cultural differences between the U.S. and the U.K. are also extremely evident in the different educational styles between the two countries. When I asked Antonia why she chose Northwestern, she stressed her desire for a more liberal education. Students in the U.S are accustomed to the broad education that is provided within the American education system where they learn a vast array of subjects and have the opportunity to explore many academic fields. In the United Kingdom, however, this liberal education approach is atypical- especially at the university level. According to Antonia, students in the U.K are expected to choose one subject to study exclusively for the entirety of their college career before they even begin their first year at a university. Unlike students in the United States, young adults in the United Kingdom don’t have the luxury of academic exploration and self-discovery that the liberal arts education allows for. For Antonia, 18 was too young of an age to decide what academic field she would study and work in for the rest of her life. During her time in secondary school, Antonia enjoyed a plethora of activities including choir, Polo, theatre, tennis, and track and field. “So,” I observed, “you were into a bit of everything.” To which she replied simply, “That’s what I liked.” Antonia is an inquisitive soul who is noticeably passionate about pursuing new activities and experiences in life. She chose Northwestern University because it offers her a chance to explore a variety of subjects that wouldn’t be available to her at an English university. Antonia especially appreciates Northwestern University’s unique quarter system which allows students to take more courses during an academic year than students can at other American universities that use the semester system. As an individual with self-described “basic idk what i’m doing yet vibes,” Antonia seeks to spend her time at Northwestern finding a subject that she is passionate about while also sampling many other academic subjects and gaining cultural experience from others.
College is ultimately about exploration. It is where we go to discover who we are and what we want to become. Antonia Carlsson is someone who has embraced this idea of exploration in her pursuit of academic knowledge, purpose, and new cultural experiences during her time at Northwestern University. As she gains cultural knowledge from her time in America, we too may seek cultural enrichment through connecting with students like Antonia who can widen our cultural horizons from the comfort of our own campus.