40,000 people. 40,000 stories. 1 campus (…isn’t that nuts?)
The Penn State community is extremely close-knit. We pride ourselves on school spirit. A sea of blue and white paints the stands during every football season, and our THON committees rock it every year. It’s no secret that the students here at Penn State are extraordinary, and we live in such a vibrant community—literally the happiest of valleys—yet it’s impossible to know every single individual on this campus. So, we’re bringing them to you!
For this blog, I was inspired by a project called Humans of New York by a photographer named Brandon, who decided one day to make a ‘catalogue’ of all the people he met on his travels through New York City. It’s absolutely amazing that just by asking basic questions, we can get to know humans on such profound levels. Below are a few individuals I’ve had the privilege to engage with here in State College. Each photo is followed by an original quote, and we’ve chosen to keep the students annonymous.
HC: What is the happiest moment you can remember?
PSU Student: I remember when I was coming to State College. I had my 18th Birthday. It was a birthday come forever. We were all dancing, and then they stopped the music. And, they all started saying something about me. First someone said something about me, and then all my friends came together, and there’s a song in Hindi regarding friends, so they sang that. It was a great day for me. My Father was in tears. My friends were in tears. I was feeling special.
HC: If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would you say?
PSU Student: Don’t go the way life takes you. Take the life the way you go because you’re born to live, not living because you’re born.
PSU Student: I really like typewriters.
HC: Why’s that?
PSU Student: There’s no distractions. It’s just me and my writing.
HC: What do you write about?
PSU Student: Stories. Moments of life. I once dated a girl for three months. For a majority of that time, she was in Italy. She wrote me letters—letters from Italy. For me, it was probably the most romantic and idyllic thing I have experienced. You can’t imagine what that does to a boy.
HC: What’s your happiest moment?
PSU Student: My coach said I did really good at a game because I sucked most of the time. I did really well, and I scored a goal. That was my happiest moment. He said to me, ‘Lekon, You did really well today, and you can keep the game ball.’ And, that game ball is still in my room right now.