After 2,160 school days from kindergarten to senior year, my 245 classmates and I will toss our caps and say goodbye to the neighborhood kids, teams, and clubs that have shaped our identities in just 21 short days.
In college, it’s up to each person to intentionally shape their brand by the people they choose to be around, the way
they choose to dress, the social media posts they make, the classes they take, and more. About every small action a person makes contributes to their image or their purposeful “brand”. Along with the pressure of finding and presenting an authentic self-image, the Class of 2024 is faced with a long list of decisions to make.
Where are you going to college?
Do you have a roommate?
What’s your major?
When are you leaving?
How much debt will you be in?
Even while scrolling on Instagram, instead of feeling distracted from life’s prodding questions, kids can’t escape the idea of college. It seems like even the smallest schools have their own Class of 2028 pages for incoming freshmen to introduce themselves. Class of 2028 Instagrams are intended to give a simulated sense of community to incoming
freshmen before they even step foot on campus. In the same sense of curating a personal brand as your very first Instagram post, students are faced with the small but rippling decision of whether or not to post on the Class of 2028 pages.
Freshman year of college is about the greatest shot at a fresh start someone can get. Most of us will be newly labeled as adults, entering a new community, and away from home. That offers a rare blank canvas to paint your personal image. Each person must decide if they will continue to present themselves as the person they have been in high school, or if they will change their personal brand to be more authentic.
Either way, kids who want to take a more outgoing approach will probably send 10 pictures and a caption to their school’s Class of 2028 Instagram account. The weight of methodically selecting these 10 images can feel like a major school project, with a potentially life changing reach. You must be aware and intentional about what these photos
say about you. What personality, theme, or story will they communicate to your new peers? Will you be funny,
outgoing, the life of the party, or more creative, intellectual, or outdoorsy? Will you be casual or fashionable? Trendy or trend- setter?
I imagine it’s difficult for adults to understand the weight of this self-imposed digital first impression. What adults and teens can both take away is that people change through high school. Whether someone’s outward appearance or behavior reflects this change or they seem to be the same person as their eighth grade self, growing up with the same 200 people can pose a challenge of fitting in with your peers while being true to yourself.
As people’s personalities, interests, and desires change at different rates, some kids fall into a hole of being who others expect them to be. Rather than exploring a new style or hobby that would change their routine image, some high schoolers wear the same clothes and do the same things as people around them to fit in. It’s scary to step out of that comfort zone of meeting people’s expectations and intentionally draw attention to yourself by breaking a routine
or changing your personal brand of interests, style, and hobbies. But, college is a chance for many to embrace personal growth without the fear of judgment from life- long peers. In a new setting away from our tiny group of the same 200 kids, will you embrace new interests and facets of yourself or will you lean deeper into the brand you have already curated through high school?
No matter your confidence in your personal image, college is a time to take risks and follow your interests. The more you lean into the styles, hobbies, and people that genuinely interest you, hopefully the easier it is to embrace an authentic personal brand for others to associate you with.
