So after discussing this with a friend on Friday night and with a group of people in my principles of journalism class tonight, I realized that I'm not the only one who thinks a certain way about this.
There's a huge dichotomy in college student culture in Provo. On one hand, you have the "Zoobie" culture, which includes BYU students who live in the BYU Bubble. They go to all the BUYSA-sponsored events and dances, and find their identity on campus.
On the other hand, there's the Hipster culture in Provo. This culture seems to try to distance itself as much as possible from the Zoobie culture. Think downtown: Velour, Sego, Coal Umbrella, etc. I even have a name for how people who identify with this culture dress: DI Kitsch.
I've felt like, since I've come to BYU, I kind of have stakes in both cultures. However, it's hard to be in both because they seem so polarized. I always feel really, really uncomfortable when I wear a BYU shirt or jacket to a show at Velour or Muse Music because then I won't fit into that too-cool-for-BYU Hipster scene.
I love the school I go to, but I also think Provo has a great downtown culture. But since I think the former, I never feel welcome in the latter.
1 comment:
You mean...you're not a one-dimensional persona that fits in with one group of sheep or the other? Tsk tsk, Shelley. Conform already!
In all seriousness, I think I know how you feel. And I don't know how to transcend that feeling because the only solution I've found is to become more and more a loner and that's not working out too well for me.
Good luck! :)
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