Hamline High

Elena Jimenez, Columnist

Highschool. Some of us graduated high school with no intention of ever looking back; some of us graduated with great memories and friends to bring with us to college; and some of us graduated reluctantly, being stuck mentally in high school for many years to come.

It is well known that Hamline University is commonly referred to as “Hamline High”, but why? Is it the smaller than average student population, the very basic dining options, or the clique-like feel around campus? The artistic students hang out with artistic students, jocks with jocks, hipsters with hipsters, “in” group with “in” group, and nerds with nerds. This sounds all too familiar when thinking back to high school. It is very rare that you will engage in a conversation with someone on campus if they are not in “your group”. Being invisible at Hamline High is much easier than one would think.

It is more understandable for U of M students, who have 300+ students in their classes, to go throughout their day without knowing most of their fellow students. However, I find it hard to believe that with how small our campus is, as well as how small class sizes are, to go throughout our day without knowing each other. What is the issue you might ask? We are simply falling into the trap that Hamline High puts us in: If I don’t know you, I do not wish to interact with you. Well, the first step to change is admitting the problem, and Hamline High, we have a problem.

Now that I am a senior, I look back on my college career and realize that I have been guilty of this same act. So, I took the liberty of changing my ways for the past several weeks and here is what I have found: random people that I struck up conversations with and showed a general interest in their life displayed clear signs of shock that I was talking to them for no reason at all; people in my classes I conversed with were more than happy to gain a new friend in our lengthy classes; and lastly, I discovered that not everyone is willing to pull themselves from the hierarchy and popularity of Hamline High.  Surprisingly, being the difference can not only benefit another person, but also yourself. The world is big, but also very small: you never know what impact any person you meet will have on you or the rest of your life.

It is reasonable to say that life will always try to separate us into categories based on our likes and dislikes and popularity status. However, I also believe that it is reasonable to stray from the easy paths and be the difference. Why not be the reason someone has a better day? There are 7.125 billion people recorded on this earth in 2015 but it takes one person, one day, or even one minute to change one person’s day or even life. We are given one life to live on this earth, and let us not waste one second of it being known as “Hamline High”.