What TikTok Can’t Teach You
In case you haven’t heard: the world’s priorities will not satisfy you. Our culture offers so many things, (especially on a college campus) that appear so attractive. From a free t-shirt to parties and a ‘casual’ dating scene, a college campus is always moving to what’s next. I remember as a freshman I was even more attracted to these “special offers” because I was in a new environment. I was willing to grasp anything that was placed in front of me because I was searching for my place and who I wanted to be.
You may have heard the phrase, “Now is your chance to find yourself!” when you first came to college. Yet that statement implicity states that you or your identity has gone missing or wasn’t there to begin with. There seems to be an unstated pressure that makes you feel like you must leave your former way of life to find yourself and to find yourself you must embrace and indulge in everything that campus has to offer. There’s a certain feeling of needing to get involved in everything, which doesn’t usually allow for proper self care. The college experience by the world’s definition is an all-access pass to pleasure. The college experience believes that it’s okay to go out every single night of the week, to spend six hours (or more) on TikTok instead of doing your homework, eating every meal out, and spending every night at your significant other’s house. But this “all access pass to pleasure” is only a temporary cover for a longing heart. A heart longing for relationship with others and interior peace with itself. College is not a pause on life, rather it is the perfect opportunity to grow in the formation and understanding of your identity. The culture does not determine who you are, you do. You have a choice to (re)claim your identity and don’t let it get taken by our culture’s false sense of pleasure.
A crucial element to reclaiming identity is to live in moderation. Spend one hour on TikTok, not six; enjoy one or two beers, not 12. Furthermore, consider what your intentions are, ask yourself tough questions such as “Is this activity life-giving?” and “Is doing this leading me to something greater than myself?” Although college isn’t a pause on life, it is a time in your life that you will never get to experience again. So have fun and take advantage of being a young adult with minimal obligations! Build a life that you will be proud of in a decade. And don’t worry, I sure haven’t figured it all out either, so I’m in this with you. Here’s to choosing the good every day together!
Good Company is a ministry at the University of Kansas. We seek to bring authentic connection in a world of AirPods.