By Andrea Park
Gargoyle assistant editor
Posted Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2006, The OG, opinions

Originality, a noun, is the “ability to think or express oneself in an independent and individual manner,” as defined by the ever-so erudite dictionary.com. Isn't originality wonderful? If people have originality, they are free from the pressures of pigeonholing themselves into societal norms.

Now original people should be the happiest people in this world, right? This minuscule population stays true to their hearts and minds. They don't try to deceive everyone, or more importantly themselves, into thinking they are someone or something they are not. They can be whoever they want to be and think whatever they want to think because they know who and what they are and aren't afraid to show it.

It seems that at Uni, students should possess more originality than students at other schools because the school environment fosters it. There is no dress code or written or verbal censorship, and teachers often encourage students to think “outside the box.”

And for the most part Uni students are more original than their public school counterparts. You don't find all Uni girls with tight Abercrombie jeans, Ugg boots, an inch of foundation, heavy eyeliner, and perfectly needle-straight hair. And Uni boys for the most part can branch their personal style outside of clothing straight from American Eagle's storefront mannequin.

But looking original is not being original.

The key to having originality is deciding for yourself what you think. However, it seems that Uni students are almost as narrow-minded and as programmed as any other “average” teenager from another school.

We scoff at institutions like St. Thomas More, whose majority of students are intolerant of same-sex marriage, are hardcore pro-life, and maybe even believe in creationism. How can they believe in such ridiculous, archaic ideas? If they just stopped and thought about their so-called “beliefs,” wouldn't they be able to see that they are completely unreasonable? Or have they considered other ideals and found that these make the most sense to them?

At Uni it seems that students go out of their way to swallow uber left-wing mantra in order to avoid being called the dreaded “C” word (“conservative,” gasp). It seems that the majority of students don't know why they support liberal ideals other than it being a way to fit in. Have any of us so-called “liberals” really considered the flipside before brushing it off as something silly? I think most students would answer in the negative. Thus, we are exactly the same as students from more conservative-grounded schools.

And this lack of originality extends beyond just political beliefs. Why is it so shameful at Uni to like pop singers like Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake, and Britney Spears? Although I do find that the music on the radio can get dull and monotonous at times, and there is nothing more exciting than finding a band that makes your ears orgasm, I still love my old buddies J.T. and Britney. But no, that's not acceptable. Either you are one of those less musically tasteful individuals or a flat-out popular music rejecter (aka a “true music connoisseur”). Never both.

Yet this is another example of sacrificing your originality to be, well, original. But have you considered that by dismissing all rap and pop music as crappy, and even going as far as ridiculing the people who listen to it, simply to be considered a “music appreciator,” you are in fact being just as illiterate and narrow-minded in musical appreciation as the popular music listeners with bad taste?

Furthermore, why do we have to look down upon students who dress in Abercrombie and Hollister? Why is preppy equated with dumb? I am very guilty of this myself. Last year I immediately labeled a group of “preppy” girls as being dumb, ignorant, and completely unoriginal. This was before I even talked to any one of them. And it wasn't because they did anything to offend me or offend anyone close to me; it was mostly so I could feel good about myself. Feeling superior and looking down on other people is
just another form of ignorance. So who was being dumb, ignorant, and completely unoriginal in this situation? Me.

Being a student at Uni is like being a student at your average high school because we are all sacrificing our originality, our actual personal beliefs, in order to fit in. The only difference is that fitting in at Uni is not fitting in at other schools. It's like we are striving so hard to be original that original is becoming the norm.

What Uni students don't see is that originality is not rejecting conventionality; originality is having personal beliefs and sticking to them.

To possess originality you don't need to be a left-wing Democrat, Hollister and Abercrombie boycotter, and Nelly Furtado-hater. To be original you must individually and independently decide what you believe in, and not rely on other people's opinions and thoughts.

So I urge all Uni students to start thinking for themselves. Question everything that you are “supposed” to believe in, and consider all angles. Furthermore, wear things, listen to things, and watch things that make you happy.

You and only you know what you believe in, and you and only you know how to express yourself. Don't let the fear of not fitting into what passes for “originality” compromise who you are and what you believe in.