College is one of the few places where people from varying, unique, and even contradicting backgrounds are able to live, study, explore, and enjoy in peace and relative harmony. When entering college one is forcefully expelled from their accustomed social spheres which had raised and shaped them. The comfortable social networks which had been established and present for eighteen years disappear. One is left naked and vulnerable only to find that instead of loss and confusion there is adventure and inspiration. Thus, unlikely friendships are formed and diverse social networks are mapped.
At Emory I have had the opportunity to witness some of these interactions. For the purpose of this autoethnography, I will focus on how city kids and suburban kids interact and form friendships outside of their social comfort zones.
City kids, some of whom I have known for many years, are friends rural and suburban kids, some of whom have never been to a major city. Initially, those from big cities surrounded themselves with others who were either from or closely familiar with large cities. Soon, I noticed that the laissez-faire attitude that urbanites hold around strangers began to disappear. Artificial interest was replaced with genuine investment, and feigned friendships became cherished companionships. The city forced caution and disinterest in high school students. Everyone was a potential competitor. Every conversation was wasted energy. Thus when urbanite children were brought to Emory, the social distancing they had embraced came with them. But soon they realized that Emory’s student population was not a strange and foreign threat but students who, hailing from every track of life, suffered from the same anxieties, fears, hopes, and motivations. This realization allowed for city-kids to lower their guard and as a result form genuine and potentially life-lasting relationships
Suburbanites, much like their urban complements, initially found students who best resembled the social spheres they had at home. Leaving a closed community of familiar faces for a new and potentially unforgiving life is terrifying. For someone who rarely ventures into the concrete jungle, being constantly surrounded by strange people, bright lights, and a lack of personal interest is alienating. Therefore, as some suburban-bred students I have spoken to explained, they choose to remain together and defend each other from the unknown. However, just as the city-kids had done, suburbanites soon came to realize that the student body had the same terrors and discomforts. The number and diversity were not threats, but in fact were additional solutions to the fears that plague every conscious member of society.
At Emory I have had the opportunity to witness some of these interactions. For the purpose of this autoethnography, I will focus on how city kids and suburban kids interact and form friendships outside of their social comfort zones.
City kids, some of whom I have known for many years, are friends rural and suburban kids, some of whom have never been to a major city. Initially, those from big cities surrounded themselves with others who were either from or closely familiar with large cities. Soon, I noticed that the laissez-faire attitude that urbanites hold around strangers began to disappear. Artificial interest was replaced with genuine investment, and feigned friendships became cherished companionships. The city forced caution and disinterest in high school students. Everyone was a potential competitor. Every conversation was wasted energy. Thus when urbanite children were brought to Emory, the social distancing they had embraced came with them. But soon they realized that Emory’s student population was not a strange and foreign threat but students who, hailing from every track of life, suffered from the same anxieties, fears, hopes, and motivations. This realization allowed for city-kids to lower their guard and as a result form genuine and potentially life-lasting relationships
Suburbanites, much like their urban complements, initially found students who best resembled the social spheres they had at home. Leaving a closed community of familiar faces for a new and potentially unforgiving life is terrifying. For someone who rarely ventures into the concrete jungle, being constantly surrounded by strange people, bright lights, and a lack of personal interest is alienating. Therefore, as some suburban-bred students I have spoken to explained, they choose to remain together and defend each other from the unknown. However, just as the city-kids had done, suburbanites soon came to realize that the student body had the same terrors and discomforts. The number and diversity were not threats, but in fact were additional solutions to the fears that plague every conscious member of society.