Diverse, Welcoming Community

Submitted by Molly Bilker

The day I arrived at ASU, I was terrified. I had heard a lot of things about college, but figuring out how to be less me—that is, less intensely passionate, perhaps not quite so loud, less abrasive on occasion—didn’t factor into my advice. I was afraid to talk to people; I was afraid of how I would appear, if people would like me, if I could make friends at all.

A month later, I was telling all my friends how badly I wished they had a community like Barrett to carry them through the transition into college. While they complained of their loneliness, it pained me that I couldn’t relate, but only because I was doing better. I wished they could relate to me.

I thought that I wouldn’t fit in. I expressed my fears to everyone at home that I was always more inclined towards people from the arts and not as much towards academics. I was scared that Barrett would be full of people like the valedictorian from my high school—gregarious, driven, well-liked, and, with regards to me, somewhat aloof.

Instead, I walked into a community of people who were all willing to accept me as I came. I adjusted my behavior to try to suit those around me and soon came to realize I didn’t have to. The people around me were friendly, open, and willing to lend an ear or hand as needed. Barrett made me feel welcome in a new and terrifying situation. Even though I didn’t have best friends in the first week, there was still a group of people I could depend on and trust to be there for me.

It’s true that Barrett wasn’t all artists, and not everyone in Barrett was someone I meshed with. But the diversity is okay. Everyone here has different strengths, weaknesses, and interests they bring to the table. It’s just that we all have a thread that connects us—both our passion and willingness to succeed that got us into Barrett in the first place, and the community of which we are all a part.

In high school, even though I went to an arts school and was in an arts community, I always felt like an outcast. I felt that there were stigmas and judgments attached to me that I couldn’t escape. It doesn’t feel that way here. Barrett is a place where I don’t have to stiffen, don’t have to fight for myself or feel bad about behaving the way I naturally behave. And it’s a relief. While the stress of class work may feel heavy, it is nothing compared to the load that feeling isolated left on my shoulders in high school.

Barrett saved me from the loneliness and crippling homesickness that I may have felt elsewhere. The community here is one of the strongest, most authentic, most wonderful social experiences I have ever had. And even though we’ve all gotten to know one another’s personalities a lot better over the past three months, that hasn’t changed. Friendships have formed, but cliques haven’t. I feel that there is a solidarity in this community that will last for a long, long time, and that will continue to nourish and sustain Barrett generations to come.

I feel extremely lucky and extremely grateful to have found a community like Barrett. I can be myself without being afraid, and that makes all the difference.