I would like to address something that we all deal with on a small campus—drama.
We all claim to avoid the “hot goss,” but we have to admit that we secretly love to hear all of the dirty little details of other peoples’ personal lives.
I have noticed a trend in the OCU student body. I’ve talked to many students, who have asked to remain nameless, who have expressed similar disappointment. I’ve encountered many dramatic events in my time here at OCU, where I’ve thought to myself, “Didn’t I graduate from high school already?”
College is about making friends, learning how to “adult” and getting a degree. But college also has become specifically about cliques and drama.
Admittedly it is easy to fall into a clique. And, admittedly, it’s easy to hear something dramatic and immediately want to tell someone. It empowers us. We feel cool because we know things that other people don’t. It gives us a feeling of superiority. It doesn’t make us bad people, but it leads to heightened tension.
Is spreading information, reWe live in a social world with social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc. right at our fingertips. Everything we do online is designed to be public, yet there are some parts of our lives that we like to keep private.
My challenge to you: when spreading information, put yourself in the other person’s shoes. If that scandalous information was printed about you on the front page of the local paper, would you be comfortable with your grandmother reading it? If not, then I suggest rethinking your plan to spread information.
Additionally, there is a fine line between spreading information and going to a friend to vent about hardships that you may bear. I find a lot of comfort in telling my friends details of my social life when I am upset. Just ensure that you vent to people you can trust. If someone betrays that trust and spreads information that was told to them in confidence, you probably shouldn’t vent to that person anymore.
Lastly, college is, simply put, difficult. We are under tremendous academic, occupational and social pressure. Rather than rambling about each other, we should maybe start raising each other up.
The word “fake” is thrown around a lot, and I really dislike its mainstream use.
You may not like someone, but what is so wrong with being nice and showing them a smile? Maybe that smile is all that’s needed to turn a relationship around.
Every argument I’ve made, of course, could only really happen in a perfect world. The fact remains that we are all human, and tensions and emotions run high at OCU. But it’s never too late to turn things around.
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