Authentic Orange

Submitted By Taylor Ireland

Authenticity is uniqueness, genuine, real, veritable, and most importantly, being true to one’s self. People strive all of their lives in search of what makes them special. How do you become true to yourself, without knowing who you are? The first step in order to be true to yourself, especially while in Beaver Nation, is the third theme of existentialism; Humanism. Individuals, or “Beavers” are focused on the pursuit of freedom and identity. They search for their own opinions and values on politics, social conformity and their own virtues (Lecture 5-7-15). A true and authentic Beaver searches during their, hopefully four years of college, to find out what makes them so unique. While we are all one Beaver Nation, we all have separate identities, which is what makes us authentic.

As we search for our identity here at Oregon State University, we are also among tens of thousands of other students with the same goal. This agrees with the philosopher Heidegger, and his theory on “The They”. As we walk to our classes with our headphones in, every face a blur as we walk by, we see a larger picture. This is called “The They”. While we think we are the ones unique and separate from “The They”, we are actually a part of it just as much as everyone else is. The other students are there with you, all with the same goal in mind. In Heidegger’s reading, he states that “Others are encountered environmentally” (Heidegger, Being and Time pg. 225). As we walk by these blurry faces, it is in the environment of Oregon State’s campus. From a larger a scale, everyone here at Oregon State, is a small part of an even bigger “The They” which is the entire world. Every Beaver is an everyday mode of being, finding their own identity in an even bigger “The They”.

While we are all part of “The They”, we must also consider the fact of how we look through other’s eyes. Every true Beaver has experienced tour groups consisting of parents and hopefully future Beavers walking past you; a sleep deprived, hungry, hungover, college student trying to get past this small group of “The They” to make it to class. I feel like an animal trapped in a glass cage at the zoo. This brings us to the philosophical  statement, Being for Others (Lecture 5-5-15). In your eyes, the tour group is turning you into an object. Which can be somewhat alienating, for you, a person in search of their own identity to be turned into just another object for that group. This is one of the many obstacles you must overcome as you embark on the journey to be an authentic Beaver. While it may seem like you are being objectified, every other fellow Beaver feels the same way and it ends up being one of the many obstacles you overcome.

As the world progresses, somethings end up being more important than it was twenty years ago, maybe because of social norms, or because it did not even exist. One of these important things that relates to being a true Beaver, is the Facebook page, “Things Overheard at OSU”. While this may seem petty, it correlates perfectly to Kierkegaard’s theory of The Crowd (Lecture 5-5-15). He states that the crowd is one driving force that persuades decisions and it weakens the responsibility of others as the bigger the crowd is, the less important one person is. “Things Overheard at OSU” is a perfect example of this because with the crowd on that page, approximately 15,000 members, each Beaver has less of an impact on the larger crowd. When one post gets over 500 likes and a lot of support, if one Beaver feels opposite of others, they can (and usually) receive a lot of hate for their opinion, because it does not follow the crowd. This is just another obstacle one faces while you attempt to be an authentic OSU student. While you may not always agree with the crowd because it is “untruth” as Kierkegaard states, the crowd is too powerful to face as a single individual.

Finally, every college student, let alone a Beaver faces procrastination. While some cases are more extreme, we all deny transcendence by procrastinating. (Lecture 5-26-15). This is in Sartre’s perspective, that we keep denying and denying starting the simplest of tasks. This is another obstacle we face, and will always be a challenge. The second part of procrastination is the “I’ll start sooner next time” phase. Which is also denying transcendence, because you never really do start earlier next time. It is the same repetitive task over and over of procrastination, sort of like Sisyphus, repeating the same task over and over. This, to me, is one of the hardest obstacles of being a Beaver in search of identity and authenticity. While it may not ever be conquered, it alone will not stop your commitment to being a unique Beaver.

Ultimately, while there are many obstacles and steps of being an authentic and true Beaver, the identity you find in the end is worth all of the time and effort. Hopefully, as I am still continuing through the process of being my very own, authentic Beaver.