I had a specific reaction to the outcome of the election in November. I had always known what to do when I felt like something was wrong, but after the election I was confused. I definitely had a gut reaction of anger and sadness surrounding the new president elect but felt helpless. I wanted to know how to make things right or at least help make things right, but I was stuck in this little purple bubble known as Williamstown. I was expected to continue going to class and continue doing schoolwork while people were in the streets back at home in New York protesting, fighting for what was right, and standing up for what they believe in. I was expected to continue being a student at Williams College, sheltered from the outside world of hatred and chaos. It felt weird not being directly affected by this election in ways that so many people who looked like me were. But that’s the feeling of a little thing called privilege. I had the privilege to be sheltered in an institution that costs thousands of dollars to be in where all the bad things couldn’t touch me. All the blatant racism, sexism and violence may not have been able to touch me, but I have eyes and I could see it happening all over the internet and the news. What was I supposed to do? The answer to this question that I constantly received was to just continue being a student at Williams College. Meanwhile, I did not exactly know what it meant to be a student here, two months into my Freshman fall.
What was my role in all of this?
Even though this was something I was struggling to answer a month ago, I found myself continuing to think about this the remainder of my first semester in college. I do not think I am alone when thinking about this as a Freshman. We all at some point think about the ways in which we fit into the new environments we are in. When we first get to college we think about what classes we want to take, what organizations we want to be a part of, and how we are going to fit in. And although this seems like an obvious thing to think about, I never explicitly thought about the way I was adapting to college life as extensively as I did when the results of the election triggered my thoughts. It is easy to just go through the motions of your days in college without taking moments to process and take in what your presence on campus really feels like. If there were only a bit of advice I could give as we approach the end of 2016, many in the midst of finals, it would be to take time for yourself: make time for self-reflection and self-care.
Good luck with finals everyone! And to my fellow college freshman, congratulations on completing first semester.
