Authentic Orange

Submitted by Taylor McEuin

Going to college and living on campus can come with many roadblocks and finding yourself can be one of them. Being authentic in a mass of people can be difficult, and at times, may seem impossible. But what does it mean to be authentic? Merriam-Webster.com defines authentic as “real or genuine: not copied or false. True and accurate.”  To fully answer the question “what does it mean to authentically, Be Orange” we must also understand what it mean to be Orange. As a member of the OSU community, I define “Being Orange” as simply, being an active student/faculty member of the Oregon State community. Using existential themes from many different philosophers, you can become an authentic Oregon State student.

Existential theme number one is existence precedes essence. It states that what you are is a result of your choices and you become who you make yourself to be (lecture 5/21/15). Your life is a project. College is a big part of this project that’s going to take a lot of rough drafts, erasing and changing but it’s what you make of it that makes you authentic. Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega states life is “an attempt to carry out a definite program or project of existence.” (“Man has no Nature” pg.154). When we become college students we are attempting our first project to start our whole lives and what we do with it is up to us.

Existential theme number two is existence is temporal. We students only have a minimal amount of time here at school, so we have to plan and get things done before our time as a college student is up and we are pushed into the world. The book The Sickness Unto Death states “Man is a synthesis of the infinite and the finite, of the temporal and the eternal, of freedom and the necessity, in short he is a synthesis.” (pg. 70). The fact that college is only temporal puts us under a lot of pressure and gives us a minimal amount of time to find a way to be authentic to ourselves. Four years is only a small fraction in our life time so we have to make use of the time we have.

Existential theme number three is humanism. People express and carry themselves in many different ways based on the pursuit of freedom and identity. College helps us find who we are and lets us explore things we never thought was out there. One great example is dorm living. We meet new people, live with new people, go to new classes that we are not used to. All in order to show us what path we want to pursue.

Ultimately, life is a canvas and we are the artist and it all begins with the color orange. There are many hoops to jump though and roads to cross but taking into consideration these existential themes and realizing that you are already authentic can help you become the person you want to be in the future. The Authentic You. The Orange You.