Growing up my brother and i were totttally different people. He was the all around american boy, played football, track, tennis, and still made straight a's. And wile He was doing that, i was rehersing, or helping to rase money for the history or art club. He, was very tidy and neat. It looked like a tornado had gone through my room most of the time. He's about 4 years older than me so about the time he was heading off to college i was staring high school. And of course, he got into Texas A&M which is a top school for those who dont know. A&M is also a very conservative college. So while i was going through high school it was put into me by my brother and mother that college is about being a "right minded intellectual" meaning straight a's and taking classes such as Agriculture economics 101. And that i had to join some sorroity and go to football games. But i soon found out that none of that stuff was for me. And, too many broken hearts, i decided to go to a Liberal Arts school. And all my family can talk about is how i'm missing out on the "real" college experence.
Now, my question is, am i? Are we missing out on some all american experience of what college is supposed to be by going to a arts school?
Another thing is why do you think we think that college is supposed to be this "all american" experience with frat boys and beer pong and the whole 9 yards?
This also got me thinking about birth order and whether or not that sets the tone for the rest of our lives. because my brother was born first did he not have a chance at being anything but conservative? Was it my destiny to have a thought pattern at million miles an hour and be artistic? If you google Differences In siblings personalities there are alot of good articles that talk about this.
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for me i have always kind of been a rebel so if my parents were trying to get me to be conservitive i would do the total oppisote. so maybe thats what hjappend for you i attribut this all american sterotype of college to the media that probley has created this persona of college based off of one party colleges and plus who would this image of college appeal to more then a freash out of high school 18 year old jock who omnly wants to get out of his parents house and be free. i have often had the urge to just let lose and wild out but at the end of the day responsibility comes first. my questyion is how did it all start ? when did the world become less conservitive and more loose ?
ReplyDeletei think no, we are not missin anything its just that if we go to real college its most likely business and medical that everyone is doing. my friends are all doing medical and business which i don't like to be one of them doing the same major. so i think art school is better even though no one support me in going to art school so yeah...
ReplyDeletei mean at the same time ice were in the position to be able and make a carraer in something we love to do ! those people who have decided to go to these sterotypical colleges also have decided to major in what they love ( or possibly just what pays well) but they dont get the oppurtunity to experience the culture we do
ReplyDeleteMissing out? I wouldn't go as far to say that we're missing out. My sister went to WMU, which is more conservative than Columbia, and majored in creative writing. My sister and I are both very artistic. I want to correct you in saying that we're missing out because, that also means everyone who doesn't go to a liberal arts college is missing out on our experience. I think that all people will grow up with a different experience.
ReplyDeletei believe college is supposed to be about your career so the only thing that i really want to experience is the experience i need for my major. there wil always be different things to experience in college but you really want to complete experiences that's is going to get you closer to your goals
ReplyDeleteok. no i don think that your missing out on anything we are all here for a reason.. in that reason means that we all have gifts of art thats why we all here.. i think that later on down the line your parents well see a different side of you.. that may prove them wrong. about you going to an art school. and that well also show them how important it was for you to make different decissions and choices throughout life. and one day you will be famous. than they will understand why you chose this school than some other college like the one your brother went to
ReplyDeleteWell I think that which ever college we go to isn't missing out because there are so many different fields that people are into. I think that if we are going to school for what we are passionate about then we're not missing out but sometimes I wonder if i should be in this school for what I want or if I should be studying nursing just like all my family are doing because thats what pays well. Some of my family thinks that going to an art school is not going to support me financially. It makes me think if I should be going to college somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteI am confused about the "college experience"--what does that mean?
ReplyDeleteIs this specific to the states--beer pong and partying? Does this have to do with drinking age being higher here than abroad? Does this exlpain why we are always lower on test scores than the international community?
My college experience was wonderful! I made three mentors who I still keep in touch with--one who recently passed away and my first full length is composed of our letters. It took me a long time and three transfers to get the college experience I wanted, but I didn't study in the states--I studied in Venezuela and Czech and did a J-term in Germany. Maybe I didn't get the "American experience" but I feel great about what I did experience.
When i found out that I'm pretty much half way accepted to Columbia, i was telling my mom how it's weird because I'm used to football games, and sports teams, and i wasn't sure if i was up for coming here. I was actually interested in majoring in Psychology, but then obviously my family was telling me how they've never really heard me talk about psychology and how i have a passion for it, they hear how i have a passion for art because it just runs in my blood. Of course my family thinks that this is ten times better than like NIU which i did apply too. My mom talks about how she's so jealous that i get to go here because they offer the coolest things and everything and how she would of picked this over a University. But i wouldn't say I'm missing out AT ALL, there are sooo many things to do here, plus we do 10x more work (school work AND our art work) unlike a University.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the experience is what we want ot get out of it? The experience im refering to is the media's potral it kinda goes back to Michael's blog not to long ago about being here for the education or the "experience".
ReplyDeleteAs far as lowering test scores the probable reason is underage drinking, and underage drinking is happening because our drinking age is alot higher than other coutries.
Lindsey, I'd be careful of oversimplification. Underage drinking might be ONE reason for lower test scores, but I think education in the states, starting from a very early age, is different from education abroad. I do not like those shows that show our "lower test scores" because I don't think it takes into account the different cultures and literacies of a place. I mean to say, there are variances in what cultures value and those test scores do not reflect that. That being said, I am always surprised to see how much Americans know about American history and how little they know about world history. Does this represent a value? Sure it does. Is it a "good" value? I'm not so sure I want to make that claim.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the experience is what you want to get out of it. I do want to reiterate that that takes a lot of work. I wanted to get a mentor out of it and it took a lot of work to find the right people and ask for help. In grad school, I didn't get the mentorship I wanted or the community I was seeking, so I had to change my expectations. I took myself to the library and committed myself to getting what I wasn't getting in the classroom. I made a community from the people I was reading.