Community gives me a sense of belonging; a feeling that is comforting and cheering. Then why would I not want to be part of the Central Connecticut State University community? Yet, I still tend to avoid joining clubs or participating in the events that the university host. Many students at Central can fall in that category with me. It is a continuous issue not only with this university, but other colleges such as AnyU, the university Rebekah Nathan attended. In the book, My Freshmen Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student, Nathan addresses the topic of individualism in the college community. Despite the various benefits that community provides such as the feeling of togetherness, I along with the other students Nathan observed, fail to get *involved due to the reluctance of being committed or “trapped” into an obligation and the preference to a comfortable smaller self-selected community.
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Nathan asked the students what happened in movie night and they responded, “I wanted to go, but when the time came, I didn’t” or “I forgot” (47). Similar to Nathan’s hall, in my dorm the RA’s often announce events that they are hosting in the upper level Pent House or in the meeting room. I often note it on my planner scheduling on attending. However, when the time comes, I convince myself out of it stating reasons that I have other important work to do or I can use this time to socialize with my friends. The reason for my actions are stated in the book, “They genuinely want to have a close community, while at the same time they resist the claims that community makes on their schedule and resources in the name of individualism, spontaneity, freedom, and choice.” (Nathan 48). Going to college is a step into freedom and independence, these activities seem to limit it by providing obligations; something I rather
Nathan asked the students what happened in movie night and they responded, “I wanted to go, but when the time came, I didn’t” or “I forgot” (47). Similar to Nathan’s hall, in my dorm the RA’s often announce events that they are hosting in the upper level Pent House or in the meeting room. I often note it on my planner scheduling on attending. However, when the time comes, I convince myself out of it stating reasons that I have other important work to do or I can use this time to socialize with my friends. The reason for my actions are stated in the book, “They genuinely want to have a close community, while at the same time they resist the claims that community makes on their schedule and resources in the name of individualism, spontaneity, freedom, and choice.” (Nathan 48). Going to college is a step into freedom and independence, these activities seem to limit it by providing obligations; something I rather