A New Chapter

As the days of my college experience are coming to a close, albeit many miles from Kenyon, I find myself looking back on how much I have changed from when it all started. While some things have remained more stagnant, like my punctuality (or lack there of), many of my beliefs of the world are wildly different than when I first came to the hill. That is, my beliefs about human nature have become much more nuanced, and my understanding of myself has greatly improved. As it turns out, I find these two concepts to be much more interrelated than I previously thought. As a teenager, empathy was really difficult. While becoming a more empathic adult has definitely resulted in changes to the way I treat others, it has also vastly affected my view of myself. While I understood the concept of theory of mind, it takes time, and is still a work in progress, to truly realize that other people experience the world in a surprisingly similar to how I do myself. While it is somewhat easy to understand the motivations of human behavior we have discussed (from the bystander effect, to stereotypes, to attraction, to fundamental attribution error), it is more difficult to apply that knowledge to my own behavior. It is even more difficult to piece together all of these concepts, relate them to my own personal experiences throughout my life, and utilize all of this information to form overarching beliefs and values to guide me throughout my life. I think the most beneficial takeaway from Kenyon has been to accept that I will not have all of the answers. That does not mean that there isn’t great value in searching for truths about the nature of the world and the people in it, but revelations only come from having an open mind. Assuming that I am a moral and just person without questioning my beliefs is a dangerous game to play. The best way to overcome some of the more troubling aspects of human nature (bystander effect, stereotyping, FAE, etc.) is to assume that I am just as likely as anyone else to fall victim to these trains of thought. For this reason, I will be forever grateful for Kenyon, as it has definitely helped shape the man that I am and will become.