Edit Desk: Letting the world in, one line at a time

“I owe nothing to anyone” is making us all lonelier.

When that sentence appeared on my Instagram feed, it made me stop scrolling. Most of the time, I swipe past the occasional cheesy post with an inspirational quote overlaying a perfectly aesthetic photo. 

But when this message popped up, I paused. 

I realized the concept was the most simple, yet accurate, encapsulation of my college experience.

As I reflect on my time at Lehigh, I’ve learned the moments I was happiest weren’t when I adopted an individualistic mindset. Instead, they were the moments I did the opposite: when I listened and gave more than expected to connect to a community bigger than myself.

When I first came to college, I was following the mentality of not owing anyone anything. 

At a university with a “work hard, play hard” culture, it seemed like this was the best way to get ahead or find a friend group that made it look like I belonged.

But after joining The Brown and White on a whim the spring semester of my first year, I quickly learned there was much more to the Lehigh and Bethlehem communities than I thought at first glance.

All it took to realize the depths of this new place I called home was for me to pause my thoughts and write stories about the many worlds in Bethlehem beyond my own.   

I’ve learned more from being a part of The Brown and White newsroom than I have in all my courses combined. And I think that’s because it’s the one place reserved on campus for me to listen — truly listen — to others. 

As a frequent news reporter, I’m accustomed to being the person sitting quietly in the back of a room for city council meetings, events, discussion or rallies — all to bring coverage through writing. But I’ve also learned there’s power in being that observer, noticing what others are saying and what they’ve left unsaid.

I’ve also realized the importance of taking the time to sit down with someone for an interview, not to just listen to their responses but to actually hear them. To pick up on the things that make them tick, the people they love and what motivates them to bring it all together in a representative story. 

While some of my friends might not understand why I’ve spent hours upon hours each week working on a college newspaper, I do it because I love it. It’s the one thing amid the chaos of being a student that forces me to open my eyes and look at the great, big world around me. 

It’s turned me from an introverted overthinker to someone more extrospective, more inclined to uphold the stories of others, and more likely to appreciate the many people and places beyond my own bubble. 

When I graduate from Lehigh and my time in Bethlehem concludes, I’ll keep countless photos, messages and videos that will remind me of my individual memories from college. 

But The Brown and White articles I wrote and edited will immortalize my experience — preserving in writing the places, people and community I was lucky enough to call home.

Without those articles, it would be easy for me to forget campus leaders, events or the hidden gems in South Bethlehem. But with them, I’ll always have the reminder that my college experience was something greater than myself, and I had the honor to report on it as it unfolded.

If we owed nothing to anyone, who would have the willpower to ask a South Side resident on the street their favorite traditions, illustrate an event through photography or shed light on campus policies that should be changed? 

Only those with the courage to look beyond themselves allow for stories to be told. That bravery is what turns conversations into narratives. It’s what gets words on a page. 

So rather than owing nothing to anyone, I believe we owe more than ever to each other. We owe it to others to listen to their stories, to hold them accountable and to share their triumphs. 

It doesn’t matter if that happens publicly at an event, privately between friends, in a passing conversation or if it’s written in the pages of The Brown and White. What matters is prioritizing human connection over individualism.

The things I’ve learned about my community are what will stick with me after graduation, far more than any moment I got caught up in fleeting worries about my exams or future.

And when my time at Lehigh is long over, I hope I can look back at the articles I’ve written to remember those moments of connection. They’re what I strive to illustrate with every piece I write, and they’re what I hope people take away from the stories in this publication for years to come.