College, we are told, is the time to try new things; finding the opportunities, resources and like-minded adventurous peers who abound around campus is only a matter of showing up to a meeting or striking up conversation with an upperclassman. Princeton, a place where opportunities and resources are especially plentiful, should, by all rights, encourage one to find a new interest, hobby or even passion. However, in my admittedly brief but pivotal first few weeks here, I have noticed a general lack of interest in experimenting with new extracurricular activities. This lack of interest and fear of failure —not only among freshmen but also among our student body as a whole— create a discouraging atmosphere for those who do wish to try something new.
Every one of us at the University comes in already having developed strong academic and nonacademic abilities. Naturally, we choose to continue developing these skills. It is understandable that, when forced for the sake of time management to prioritize activities, we usually choose academics and other interests in which we are already invested. However, I think that most of us have room to fit in a new interest with our academic schedules and extracurricular commitments at one point or another. In my first few weeks, a time in which freshmen begin classes and get involved in extracurriculars for the first time, I have noticed that only a relatively small group of people get involved in something unrelated to the skills they developed in high school, and those new activities are limited mainly to non-audition dance or a cappella groups and intramural sports.
That’s not to say that there aren’t opportunities for beginners to get involved in new things. As I mentioned before, there are many non-audition groups that include dance, a cappella and improv, as well as intramural sports teams and civic engagement groups. But relatively few students take advantage of these options. This helps create an atmosphere that, if not hostile, is discouraging to beginners. I have heard disparaging comments made about groups designed for beginners as well as fears about being a beginner in a discipline that other people have already seemed to master. The costs to being a beginner include condescension from some more experienced students and exclusion from most (some would say nearly all) of the opportunities for performance and travel.
And what if you’re looking to explore something new that falls outside the confines of the “beginner-friendly” groups on campus? Debate, for example, is limited to the highly competitive debate team. There seems to be similarly few opportunities in theater for those who want to try acting for the first time. These are only a couple of examples of the areas that are very difficult for beginners to enter. In these areas, only the most determined students won't be dissuaded from changing their minds and sticking with whatever is comfortable.
It’s an obvious cliché to say that Princeton students are afraid to fail, having always been successful before. Nonetheless, many of us do not seem too concerned about falling into this stereotype. I heard one freshman talk about how he is too intimidated to try learning a new instrument, explaining that he always hears incredible music coming from practice rooms and knows that whatever sound he makes will be embarrassing in comparison. This is an unhealthy but pervasive attitude: that beginning efforts at learning something new will be judged harshly by peers. This fear is too often confirmed by the discouraging comments that some students make about groups geared for beginners.
Failure is best experienced collectively. When many students try extracurricular activities, they create a low-pressure, encouraging community in which to experience failure. This experience often lowers the individual ego and fosters a more collective, collaborative spirit. This is something that undoubtedly exists in places on campus, but many students are uninterested or unsure of how to find them.
This is why the Princeton community would benefit from a little more adventurous spirit. It would become a more encouraging place for people to try new things and, in so doing, open students up to different ways of learning, thinking, expressing themselves, staying fit, building relationships and maintaining humility. Especially as a place where ego sometimes runs high, Princeton could use more beginners.Max Grear is a freshman from Wakefield, R.I. He can be reached at mgrear@princeton.edu.
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