Authentic Orange

Submitted by Nikki Rieken

The idea of  authenticity and “Be Orange” is to be true to yourself, don’t give into peer pressure, and find others who share your passion for life. Not only are we “condemned to be free” in Sartre’s point of view but college is the time to utilize that freedom. Likewise, learning what you stand for and what makes you happy in life is the simple view of the Kierkegaard’s three stages of existence. The concept of authenticity is being genuine and true to oneself in both a philosophical standpoint and a way of approaching obstacles in life. Being authentic is simply being who you really are, which can be extremely difficult when it comes to trying not to conform to influential individuals in ones life. College is normally a time to find yourself, what you stand for, and what you believe in. It’s also a time to find individuals that share your same passion and make lasting friendships.

Step One: Be true to yourself; College is a time to learn what you believe in, what you stand up for, and experiencing Kierkegaard’s three stages of existence. Not only do you learn the components of authenticity, transcendence, and freedom, also known as bad faith and what it is composed of, through these stages but you also learn what the meaning of life means to you. There is no one meaning of life, it’s different for every individual and the lesson you take away from experiencing each phase is also different for everyone. Understanding your point of view on what your desires are, good vs. bad, and the concept of the leap of faith are all important stages to go through to learn who you are. Through each phase you learn, grow, and alter your behavior to build off of each layer obtaining experience that will help you find what life means to you and who you believe to be. I find myself in the ethical sphere; making decisions in regards to good and bad on a daily basis just like every college student out there. Especially since college is the first time many people leave home and have to learn how to make their own choices. I was a person that was very influenced by peers, parents, and family members when I was growing up and was never assertive when it came to what I wanted or believed in. Now, after deciding to pick up my life and transfer to Oregon State University I’ve learned to chase after what I want and stand up for what I believe in even if it’s not what my close friends, parents, or majority of individuals stand for.

Step Two: Don’t give in to peer pressure; The largest obstacle I face at OSU is constant peer pressure. But, having the mentality to step back and think about decisions I make prior to making them has allowed myself to avoid making a decision based off of social norms or peer pressure. It’s easy to decide to skip a class or homework to go out with friends, especially when they don’t have any responsibilities to attend to or are avoiding their work too. If I were to avoid my responsibilities I wouldn’t be abiding by my authentic self and in turn would be conforming to Nietzsche concept of “The Herd”. Being manipulated by the majority rule of the group would cause myself to not only be inauthentic but also conform to the idea of mindless and thoughtlessly following the group. Peer pressure is a very real concept that causes many individuals to be inauthentic to themselves because they don’t want to go against the grain of the group.

Step Three: Find people who share your passion for life; Everyone has the right to their opinion and humanism is the individual focused philosophy that allows one to pursue their identity and transcendence. Building relationships with individuals who have your same point of view, ideas, and thoughts represent the utilization of one’s freedom. Likewise, this is a representation of ones transcendence and not putting on a metaphorical ‘mask’ to fit into the crowd. When you be true to yourself and don’t give into peer pressure, the third step of finding others like yourself will ensue on it’s own. Living a life with a perspective of reaching optimal authenticity, with others who wish to do the same, is a simple but amazing way to do it. You’ll gain a support system like no other with individuals who wish to accomplish everything you do in life.

Submitted by Ashley Martin

To be authentic is to be real or “to be your true self” (lecture, 4/16/15). Although, I’d have to argue that sometimes it can be more difficult than it sounds. Sartre presents this obstacle of authenticity in our lecture on 4/9/15. “Being in-itself” or “being for itself” are main categories of being. When one is being in-itself, one is unconsciously living, going through the motions and living without real purpose. When one is being for-itself, one lives with freedom from the mind, freedom from the physical realm and is at peace with who they are. Today, our society is filled with these things called ‘social norms’. This is a huge obstacle that many struggle with in growth and development of the self. From birth we are molded by our parents, coaches and significant others. These norms can be anywhere from physical appearances to how we decide to talk. Norms are expectations and cues within a society or group. Nietzsche said, “the ‘Herd’ can often lead individuals to act in unauthentic ways, or to be less authentic themselves (lecture, 5/5/15). Consequently children are told to follow the rules, to not question our superiors and to be “good little kids”. These kids grow up and eventually enter high school. Here, you are told to “be yourself, don’t follow the crowd, and stand up for what you believe.” Sounds easy until you are that 16 year old looking in the mirror realizing you have no idea who you are because all you have ever been is a product of your parents and social institutions you have been exposed to all your life. This introspection in the mirror is the conscious shift of being that Sartre was speaking of. Once you draw awareness to who you want to be versus who you actually reflect, you start to focus on yourself instead of every other person in the crowd.

A brighter light is when society accepts the fad you have always wanted to follow. The ice finally has been broken allowing you to express yourself in the way you have always wanted to. But the question remains, wouldn’t you just express the real you if society was accepting or not? That is more of what authenticity is, not waiting for the acceptance but being the real you from the start. Which reminded me a lot of what Kierkegaard was talking about in The Crowd. He said, “even if every individual possessed the truth in private, yet if they came together into a crowd, untruth would at once be let in” (Kierkegaard, The Crowd is Untruth, Paragraph 4). Individuals are themselves when they are alone or feel welcomed to be themselves. In that situation there is nothing but truth. But when all together in a group there are walls being put up, and things being protected from judgment or hurt, which is untruth. We should embrace our individuality, be the person who breaks social norms, starts new trends, and is the purest human being for others to branch off of. Being an individual in college can be rough.

Coming to college I have discovered that here is where you find the real you. Discovering if you are able to think on your own, make life choices, handle life’s stressors and find what brings you happiness. To be authentically orange means to take pride in your school, take full advantage of your opportunities and make Oregon State proud to have you. What it means to be an authentic beaver is living in unison with the ethic codes of OSU. This is a school that stands for equality in marriage, race, job discrimination and much more. This University is founded on adversity and the acceptance of beavers no matter their roots. To be authentic is to find individuality in the standards of this university; while still up holding the morals and ethics this university lays as a foundation to build from. Honestly, I don’t think you would be here at OSU if you were not already authentically orange. Oregon State gives you everything you need to be successful and what you need to be YOURSELF. So I say give back and bleed orange. A challenge in the college community comes as level of need to fit into something. You cannot be authentic if you don’t have a place where you feel you fit or belong. If that is the case, don’t give up on the real you just keep searching. It’s common for students to drift off onto easier pathways so they can succeed. Be nothing but authentic.

Submitted by Jordan Quesenberry

The Guide to an Authentic Life

 “Throughout the longest era of humanity, There was nothing more frightful then feeling single. Being alone, perceiving as a single person, neither obeying nor ruling, constituting an individual – That was no pleasure then, but a punishment; one was condemned ‘to being individual’… In this respect we have reversed our attitude most of all” (Nietzsche, Herd, pg. 117)

–Friedrich Nietzsche

Being Real With Yourself

Authenticity is all about being real, true, genuine, and most importantly being real with yourself. The definition of authenticity consists of choosing in a way which reflects the nature of itself as both transcendence and facticity. Being real with yourself is an extremely important part of our existence. It is a part of the first existential theme, Existence precedes essence. Which means what you are is a result of your choices. (Lecture, 5/21/15) Choosing to come to Oregon State University was my first step into becoming authentically orange. I had to be real with myself and understand that I wanted to go to Oregon State for me and no one else. Choosing was my first step to authenticity in my new found orange lifestyle.

The Struggle

My struggle with truly becoming and living orange arouse very early, before I even got to school. I was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon and all my life I and my father have been huge fans of the University of Oregon. The struggle was not if I could cope with leaving the school I had supported all my life, but if my father could handle me going to not just a different school, but the rival of his beloved ducks. By making this decision I went through what Sartre would consider the third existential theme, Humanism; in doing this I was pursuing my own identity and finding meaning through the oppositions I faced. (Lecture, 5/21/15) I had to continually remind myself that I was not doing this for him, but I was doing this for myself, and I am able to live authentically orange because I know that every morning when I walk around campus with the new friends I have made, I feel at home and I know that I made the right decision.

Constantly Living Orange

In order to constantly live authentically Orange, you have to consistently be true to yourself and honest about who you are and who you are not. When you are pretending to be someone else or do things that you know you wouldn’t do, it begins to get into denying our transcendence or our facticity. You have to be totally honest with yourself and not do things just because you aren’t entirely sure what to do, and someone else is encouraging it because that would be considered denying facticity. (Lecture, 6/2/15) In a more school specific example, if you are known to procrastinate and spend time doing things you shouldn’t be doing in order to avoid those tough school assignments, and you say to yourself something along the lines of, “I’ll just make sure that NEXT TIME I study sooner and get it done way beforehand” that would be denying transcendence. I do my best to stay authentically orange because I know that I have an issue with procrastination, but I don’t tell myself that next time I will make a complete 360 degree change, but what I do is do little pieces at a time but just start early.

Remembering Who You Are

            Being authentically orange doesn’t start or end when you are in school. Striving to be an authentic individual of society is extremely important to living a meaningful, happy life, and Nietzsche emphasizes in his Eternal Recurrence. (Lecture, 6/2/15) He does this by saying, if you were condemned to live the same life over and over again, would you be happy and praise the god, or be furious and scorn the demon. Remembering who you are will help you to always be authentic, and remembering who I am and what values I hold most dear is something that helps me to live authentically orange in my community, no matter what struggles face me.