Edit desk: Finding an identity in college

It can be very easy to get lost in the masses at college. Everyone at Lehigh seems to be from a middle to upper class family in suburban Pennsylvania, New Jersey or New York studying something in engineering or business. 

So how do you “fit in” while simultaneously forging a unique identity?

This is something that I’ve struggled balancing at Lehigh. Being from the small town of Biglerville, Pennsylvania, the more blue collar and down-to-earth culture that I grew up around is often at odds with the more white collar, materialistic culture present at Lehigh.

I’m not saying that one culture is superior to the other, as I actually fall somewhere in the middle. I will admit that, as a finance and accounting major, I do care about making money and eventually working up the chain of the cut-throat business world. 

Even so, I also have an appreciation for the slower-paced lifestyle of rural south central Pennsylvania. I’m happy to be at Lehigh while I’m here, but I welcome the change of pace during academic breaks.

I’ve sometimes felt stuck in the middle between these two extremes. So, where do I find my identity?

In high school, my identity could be easily derived from my personal qualities and interests. I was always known as a top tier student who played soccer and basketball, especially excelling at basketball. 

So, there was a clear identity for myself: a student-athlete.

When I say I excelled at basketball, though, I mean for a small town area. Since I’m not in the same stratosphere as Division 1 basketball players and wanted to go to an elite academic school like Lehigh, I knew that being an athlete would no longer be part of my core identity in college.

I could still retain the student part of my identity, though, and have continued to do very well academically in college. Yet at Lehigh, everyone’s smart. While I can still strive to be above average, my strong academic performance is not a distinguishing factor in the context of Lehigh.

Therefore, like most college freshmen, I turned to other avenues to forge an identity for myself. Many students at Lehigh do this by joining a fraternity or sorority, but the financial obligations and time commitments associated with being part of a Greek organization are not something I envisioned myself handling. 

This refusal of Greek life made it rather difficult to form a self identity during my freshman year, especially in the spring semester when so many of my friends were in the process of joining a fraternity or sorority. Toward the end of the semester, I came to realize that I was just a student, and I didn’t have anything in particular to attach myself to.

This year, I sought to change that by pursuing my individual interests instead of trying to fit into something that I’m not. I became an associate sports editor for The Brown and White, allowing me to pursue my passions for sports and writing in a meaningful way.

I also joined the club basketball team this semester, filling the void left by the conclusion of my high school athletic career. Though it’s not quite the same as playing for my high school team, club basketball gives me an outlet to play the game that I love at a competitive level.

By putting myself out there from an extracurricular standpoint this year, I’ve carved out a space for my own unique identity. I’m now able to explore my interests and passions meaningfully, while creating valuable connections along the way.

This has made me more content with my own identity and individuality, while showing me how unnecessary it is to attempt to fit into the specific Greek life-centered culture at Lehigh. I’ve realized that exploring what I love to do is much more important than forcing something because it’s “the norm” or what many of my friends are doing. 

Focusing on the things I enjoy most has also made me more grateful for everything in life — from these campus opportunities to all of the meaningful connections I’ve made at Lehigh. With this gratitude, there’s no need to worry about what others are doing or what others have. Ultimately, it doesn’t affect me anyway.

Simply put, I’m just doing me and trying to love every second of it. After all, college is a fleeting few years of my life, so I might as well cherish what I have now.