For those of you have never read a rubric for a paper, it usually includes the phrase “critical thinking.” At Cairn, if you have ever taken a class with Professor Palladino or Dr. Ebersole, they intentionally stress and promote the development of critical thinking skills: asking thoughtful questions of texts, peers, or any information you come across. The heart of critical thinking is the true mastery of concepts and the constant growth achieved through asking questions and discussing possible answers.

However, at Cairn, there seems to be a trend of over-criticality that breeds resentment. Examples range from the criticality of the food in the cafeteria to student event planning. Eventually, it gets to the point in the semester to be critical about new things such as chapel, homework, professors, and (often times) the lack of success of our sports teams.

Admittedly, I have probably leaned toward the critical side during my time at Cairn. However, throughout my years here I have examined my attitude and have come to the realization that I wasn’t thinking critically about issues at our school in regards to the food, the social life, the Bible classes, and the educational aspect, but rather with a spirit of criticality. I was joining in with all the voices who had been jaded by their frustrations with the school. Through the examination of my spirit of criticality, I decided to utilize my critical thinking skills in question-asking to see what life was like at other universities. In short, what I found was a spirit of criticality. Whether it’s Lehigh, Temple, Princeton, Liberty, Eastern, Summit, LBC, or good old Cairn University, apparently everyone gets sick of eating the same food repetitively. Apparently everyone gets frustrated with their professors and the rules at their university. Apparently a lot of people struggle to afford school. Apparently a lot of people get wait-listed for classes. Apparently a lot of people think chapel is monotonous.

It took a while for me to realize that the Cairn experience is much like any university experience. It is what you make it. We are not the university of the fraternity and sorority. We are not the university of the thriving social night life. We are the university of making your own fun and creating your own experience. Trays are snow sleds. The roof is for sneaking on. We don’t do all-nighters in our dorms: we do them at Denny’s. We find cool things to do in the area. We go to thrift stores and make horrendous style choices. We are the Neshaminy Creek rope swinging, Chick-fil-A eating, LCH-going Cairn University students.

And as you go throughout your year, be a doer. Instead of complaining about the fun you could be having elsewhere, make fun of your own right here where you are.