Lines That Stuck
I grew up watching movies, and there were always hidden messages and certain symbols that stuck with me.
“How are you gonna be a revolutionary if you’re such a traditionalist? You hold onto the past, but jazz is about the future.” – La La Land
I’m somewhat of a perfectionist, chasing achievement so I can give myself a gold star. However, with this yearning for perfection comes a fear of taking risks and a reluctance to step outside the lines, fearing the consequences of making a mistake. My hesitance to take risks often causes me to miss out on big opportunities, and I watch from the sidelines as my friends’ risks pay off. So, a quarter of the way through my freshman year, I started taking small risks and conditioned my brain to take small steps outside my comfort zone. This looked like trying out for new sports, going to mixers, and attending new clubs. I ended up finding some activities that I truly enjoyed and wanted to join, such as the Women in Economics club and the co-ed club. These clubs helped me build new friendships and connections at Carolina and were some of the moments I cherished most when I looked back on my freshman year at UNC.
“And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for” -The Dead Poets Society
I often joke with my friends that I was born to be a humanities major, but forced to be an economics and data science major. In high school, all my classes leaned towards humanities and critical thinking thanks to the IB program. I took philosophy, theory of knowledge, French, and literature instead of AP biology, AP chemistry, and AP calculus. That changed when I started taking classes at UNC, where the majority of the classes I took were oriented towards STEM, and most of my classes counted towards my economics major. I found myself gravitating towards my general education requirements, such as women and gender studies, and art history, both of which challenged my way of thinking. Ever since that semester, I started adding one “fun class”, or a class that aimed to fulfill my general education requirements, and gave me insight into the humanities.
“We accept the love we think we deserve” – The Perks of Being a Wallflower
This is something that I think about in the context of college relationships. Whether it’s new relationships or old ones from high school, those dynamics change in college. It’s because college is a time of change, and everyone is learning new things about themselves, which can lead to people forming new friendships or ending old relationships. Either way, it’s important to reflect on what you’re looking for in relationships when you enter college. This can involve evaluating old ones and assessing the value they bring to your life. But it can also look like branching out and making new friends, which sometimes can be hard, especially when you first enter college. You’re so desperate to find a new friend group that you rush into friendships, and sometimes you’ll avoid red flags. Which is why it’s good to try to keep an open mind when it comes to relationships in college. Build them, nourish them, and with some luck, you’ll end up with a pretty good friend group.
“You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work, and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul.” – Ratatouille
Finally, a ratatouille quote, because what else would I end this blog post with? This movie truly touches my heart as someone who doesn’t know what direction I plan to go after college. It feels like that Sylvia Plath quote where she talks about her future options all laid out in front of her like a fig tree, dangling and ripe. Looking back on it, the best thing I can do is try as many things out as possible, and see what I’m interested in the most. This can be a daunting thing, as trying out new things can be scary, especially when you know that you won’t succeed the first time. But every time that you mess up or embarrass yourself, you’re making progress, or in my case, learning what I enjoy doing.
– Tanvi