Against the Grain

Don’t get out of your seat, don’t talk, keep to yourself, make friends later, your time to reflect yourself onto others and them onto you in a way that helps you shape your idea of who you are and what your place in the world is can come later. This is how we have been indoctrinated through our school systems that demand obedience, conformity. The judgment that an attempt at change incurs is best represented by the natural phenomenon of crabs stuck in a bucket. None of them are able to escape the bucket until one brave crab decides to traverse up the 90 degree slick walls and almost escapes. That is, until all the other crabs form a living staircase, working synergistically to raise their own elevation, so that they can keep the lone crab from reaching liberation without them. I listened to the voices of judgment, and followed them as my guide to do exactly what they begged me not to.  I began to walk however I want, even if it offends people. I began to ask anyone or everyone inflammatory, controversial questions, despite how my curiosity might be misinterpreted for anything else. This coincidentally served as a litmus test to filter out superficial relationships, and brought self assured, understanding, ambitious people around me. Rapidly. Asking the questions that no one else would led me to find the family that would push me into becoming the creative who allows himself to be curious about the world.

By: Jack Freitag

Year: Junior

Major: Kinesiology Pre-Chiropractic

Hometown: Powell, Ohio

Fun Fact: I’m learning how to do a backflip