True story: At my summer orientation before I started college, I walked up to the student government table at the involvement fair and asked, “How do I become Student Body President three years from now?” I didn’t do it because I was feeling cocky. I did it because I was scared. I felt lost among the masses of students all around me and intimidated by the scale of the campus. That morning I had read an article in the student newspaper about how the Student Body President had sustained minor injuries in a car accident, and it astonished me to think that on a campus full of people, one student could be so important that she merited front-page coverage.
I wanted to be that person, to be visible above the crowd. But behind that wish, coming from a place so deep within me that my conscious mind had not yet recognized it, was a yearning to be seen and embraced for exactly who I was. I wanted to belong, to be loved, and to have the chance to participate in my new campus community wholeheartedly and without fear. “How do I become Student Body President three years from now?” was my way of asking, “How do I make it OK to be me, here?”
Over the years becoming comfortable in new communities has become a lot easier for me. But even with the wisdom and patience that come from experience, it remains a little scary. Mostly what has changed is that I’ve learned to feel OK about risking rejection by being and expressing my authentic self. The occasional rejection I risk is more than counterbalanced by the joy of making real connections.
What I love most about the UMBC community is that we thrive on the unique contributions of our diverse members, and we know it. We celebrate it! Our quirkiness is our strength, and our diversity helps to liberate and empower each one of us, in part by giving us permission to be ourselves.
So welcome to UMBC, all of you new freshmen and transfer students! Please dare to contribute your own stories and dreams. UMBC is stronger because you are here, and now that we are all here together, it’s time for our adventure to begin.
P.S.--If this is the first time you’ve read a Co-Create UMBC post, welcome! My name is David Hoffman, and I work in UMBC’s Office of Student Life. Among other things I am SGA’s staff advisor, teach a class on social change, advise the First Year Council (more on that later), and generally help students find ways to make a difference on campus and beyond. I write this Co-Create UMBC blog to help point the way to opportunities for all of us to “make UMBC ours.” Feel free to join the new Co-Create UMBC group through MyUMBC, check out old posts at www.cocreateumbc.blogspot.com., and get in touch with me any time (dhoffman@umbc.edu, or visit me in Commons 2B12).
