Coming to college can change a lot. For one, you’re away from home, and you can’t see your parents every day. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, until you get sick and miss your mom’s care more than anything. Despite the negative changes college may bring, it can certainly open your eyes to the world. They say college shapes you and it’s where you find yourself. Whoever “they” are, they were right about that. College has done so much for me, even though I haven’t even been here for a full year yet. The best thing college has probably done for me so far is made me opinionated.
The idea of becoming more opinionated sounds almost like a negative gift college would bring. Why would you want to care about certain issues? Why not be carefree like other college kids? Well, I can say that I’ve been carefree for what seems like a long time, and it is time to break loose. When I attended middle school, I wasn’t as aware of the issues that went on around me, although that was the time I first began to find where I stood with issues. Nonetheless, I couldn’t care less about the presidential elections. When I went on to high school, things got a bit better. I found out a little more what I cared about and what angered me in this society. Although I cared, I never did much more than just that. When I finally came to college, it seems like things finally clicked. By joining a few clubs and becoming better informed through social media, I found out more about what I cared about. The things that I had cared about turned into things that I became passionate about.
The clubs I joined in college encouraged me to research things more and to dig deeper into touchy subjects. I became more interested in politics and some of the debates with social issues when I came to college, although some things sparked when I was younger. Growing up attending a private, Christian school for a large portion of my life is part of what opened my eyes to everything going on around me, and ultimately what made me more opinionated. When I attended the school, I knew where I stood with certain issues, but it seemed that everyone disagreed with my views. I began to think that my view was incorrect, just because I was so outnumbered. After discussing political topics with my dad more and sharing what I viewed, I realized that I was happy with where I stood. My views on political issues were certainly outnumbered, but I found out that just because I was outnumbered, didn’t mean I was wrong. When I went into high school and college, I dug deeper and read more articles about things that irked me. Plus, college is all about finding yourself, so why not find your opinions too?
As a young woman, it’s important to consider certain women’s issues. For instance, did you know that there’s still a pay gap between genders? That, among other issues that should have been resolved long ago, are why I have a care in this world. Women’s issues, among other social issues, are things I have strong opinions about. From going to a school where I felt I had an incorrect opinion, to attending college where I am becoming who I want to be, I feel like a new, stronger, more opinionated person is being formed. I want to see a difference made, and everyone has the potential to make a difference.
As I watch presidential debates, because it’s a good idea for us all to be informed, I became happy with issues and angered with others. As the Ohio primary is coming up on March 15th, it’s important for everyone to be opinionated. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, whether others agree with it or not. College is the place where we find out who we are and where we stand with some issues. It’s our job to take a stand, to vote. If we don’t vote, then we can’t blame anyone for the outcome, right?