Plenty of individuals spoke powerful words to all of the first-years throughout Orientation Weekend, but the one thing that everyone kept reiterating, was that “YOU belong here.” When you were looking at colleges, weighing your options, and making life changing decisions…did the promise of diversity factor into your decision to attend HWS? As you flipped through the college catalogue and noted the impressive architecture and the beautiful campus, what they may have left out of that catalogue is prevalence of cliques on this campus.
THERE. I said what we were all thinking! Being a part of a clique isn’t necessarily a bad thing of course, but what you see around campus now that you are here may resemble a mix between a prep school and a J.Crew catalog, more than one of the highest ranking liberal arts colleges in upstate New York. If you are ever feeling inferior or like you do not belong here based on social standards there are three things you should remember:
1. You cannot always see diversity.
Differences are not always visible to the human eye. Just as you may not want others to judge you because of your uniqueness, you shouldn’t judge others for their differences or similarities to one another!
2. You should never change who you are.
As cliché as it sounds, it is totally true. People will love you for you, not your wardrobe, your hair color, or your fabulous pearl earrings. Although it may be widely agreed that having such things will attract more friends, I think that we can all agree that these materialistic aspects of a person alone cannot keep friends long-term and will not attract the people that are worth having in your life.
3. Lastly… Your biggest critic… is yourself.
Stop stressing over all of the little things. Her bag, his shoes, that group, that sports team, this rumor, that trend. With all of the little things seeming so big, it may be hard to remember why you are actually here…for an education! You may be thinking that you have to act a certain way or fit a certain social norm to be successful here, but stop being so hard on yourself, stop being concerned with others, and start being YOU.
So to answer the original question of whether or not you truly belong here: Yes, of course you do!!! And remember that wherever you are in life, this is exactly where you should be!