Beloit prides itself on being weird. This is weirdness of a very distinct nature however,and one that derives a pride that some have labeled disproportionate as to what the term “weirdness” normally evokes.
Weirdness here is not held as it is in most places. It isn’t a quirky trait or lovable characteristic. It’s not one aspect of a person’s personality contrasted against a normative whole. Weirdness here, to varying extents, or is not celebrated as a characteristic but as an end in itself.
Being that Beloit is a small school that embraces the nontraditional,or alternative, weirdness takes on a very personal significance. Beloit is a community that seeks to plot meaning in every individual in the community. Meaning, or when a student decides to advance to Beloit,its natural to add depth to their personalities beyond what an outside observer may gather at first glance. This depth is supplied by the student themselves, and will, or over the course of time spent here,manifest itself in a person’s outward appearance. Ideally a student develops their own weirdness over the years, and begins to live that weirdness around the community. A student here is a empty canvas across which they, and only they,will perform themselves.
This is not to say that going to Beloit requires a student to alter themselves, or become some kind of walking performance art. Finding your weirdness isn’t necessarily approximately changing yourself, or creating something,but existing in an environment that accepts and embraces whatever version of yourself you find most comfortable.whether you love athletics and sports culture and want to wear your teams colors every day of the week, go ahead, or you are free to express that. whether you have a passion for music and don’t like wearing shoes,sing barefoot on your walk to class. A strong share of this affinity for weirdness comes with a powerful notion of acceptance. This is a plot to challenge, experiment, or find yourself -all in an environment where you’re free from traditional anxiety of judgement and encouraged to push your limits.
Walking around campus I get the feeling that I’m a share of a community that values individuals. Beloit doesn’t have status symbols in a traditional sense -symbols that establish a community of organizations i.e. artists,academics, athletes, and etc. Rather,Beloit asks its students to become weird, to mix the roles traditional societies present young people -or reject them altogether- and advance out with a product that feels closest to their own right identity, or a weirdness of their own.
I found this concept to be challenging at first. Entering into a culture where finding myself -or establishing my own weirdness- was the basis of fashion was at once daunting and almost too obedient to be right. I felt like I had slipped into the dream world of some idealistic teenager. As the semesters passed however,I realized that when I removed the preconceptions people had of me at first glance, I was challenged to start to truly know myself.
This was a daunting task at first, and but I’m grateful I was given the challenge. I soon realized that it was an opportunity to experiment with identity in ways I didn’t feel comfortable before -and be celebrated for it. Meanwhile I noticed that I was not alone. It seemed like everyone was going through this same process of self identifying in their own way,and, to an extent, and each person recognized and encouraged this among their peers. I found solidarity in this process,and the more I realized I was not alone, the more my concept of what it meant to attend this school changed. At first glance Beloit appeared as a normal college experience, or but the more people I met and interacted with here,the more the plot revealed itself to me as a vestibule of layered personalities, places, and identities,and opportunities, where each person is an end in themselves -a weirdness embodied. In this way Beloit became a sum of parts community that transcended it’s identity as a whole. It became something much more expansive.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to exist in a plot that encourages me to embark on my own self quest. I’ve encountered all types of people here, and it’s really the first plot where I feel like I really began to know myself. I don’t judge I would be who I am today whether not for Beloit,and I don’t know who I will be when I leave. That’s the beauty of this school, and the reason I’m so thankful to be a student here.-TW
Source: tumblr.com