Being a Furman student, it can be so easy to get caught up in your own little bubble. We are consistently known to be some of the busiest college kids around, filling our days with rigorous academics, clubs, service projects, sports and meetings, all while attempting to still have a social life. I know that I am definitely guilty of putting on the blinders sometimes. I get so focused on all of the things that I have to do that I don’t see all of the incredible people around me.
This past weekend I was reminded of just how talented our students are. On Friday night, I attended Shrek: The Musical, which was put on by the Furman Pauper’s Players. I had heard that they were good, but I wasn’t prepared for how truly gifted these performers were. From the costumes to the dances and the songs, every thing was on point. I mean, the sheer vocal range that some of the actors had just blew my mind, and what was equally shocking was that it was all created by Furman students, without any adult help. Some of my peers performed in the play and I knew how hard they had worked and the long hours that they had put into rehearsals and it definitely showed in their end product. Sitting out in the audience, I was so proud to be a Furman Paladin and just to be in the presence of so many amazing people.
This weekend I also had the opportunity to attend the Women’s Leadership Conference at Clemson University. Throughout the day there were different sessions to attend, all with the goal to empower women and create equality between genders. A junior at Clemson, who was involved in non-profit organizations to end human trafficking, headed the first session that I went to. As I listened to this girl speak so intelligently about this rising national and global epidemic, I was in awe of how much she had accomplished at such a young age. She was majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Non-profit Leadership and she spent the last two summers actively involved in non-profit organizations, speaking to individuals who were directly affected by human trafficking in the U.S. She is only a year older than me and she’s already making a difference in something she’s passionate about. Even though she made me feel slightly unaccomplished, she inspired me. Many times I feel like because I’m a college student and I’m so invested in my future right now, I can’t really make a difference. That’s all supposed to come after college. Yet here was a girl who was using her college years to really get her feet wet with something she truly cared about.
As college students, we all get caught up in our own agendas and the things that are directly affecting us right now, to the point where we don’t really see anything else. It’s a shame really. We are at a time in our lives in which we are surrounded by some of the brightest minds, people who will go on to do incredible things. Instead of just focusing on what comes next for ourselves, we should be learning from each other. This may be one of the few times that we really get to expand our horizons and get out of our comfort zones and meet people whom we may not have otherwise. That’s one of the beautiful things about college and I think we forget that too often.