Hello everyone! I am Kizzie Ryerson, a 2010 Hixson Scholar from Wright County. The Beloit College Mindset List for the class of 2014 is quite the creation. Never have I ever heard of such thing and was curious when told about our assignment! In the end, it was extremely interesting to read!
Throughout the list there were many statements that I agreed with, but here are some that caught my attention the most. First, email truly is BEYOND too slow for our generation. Not once did I send an email to a friend, or anyone for that matter, until coming to Iowa State. (And just for the record, I despise it!) We have very little patients, and we always want our questions answered right here and now. Sending a text or chatting with them on Facebook normally gets us an answer in just a matter of seconds. Next, Korean cars have always been a staple on American highways. Our generation thinks of them as just another car. These days, while few still shop for quality, the majority still shop for good prices and most importantly: style or flashiness. Buying American made products is not close to the top of the list necessities when buying a new car for the class of 2014. Lastly, leasing a car has always allowed people to upgrade their tastes in cars. Thanks to my mother, I agree with this! She would always say that when someone whom she thought could not afford a new car, got a new car, that it was leased. The world has always been trying to accommodate for the handicap, and colorful lapel ribbons have always been worn to indicate support for a cause are two more statements that I also strongly agree with as well.
The amount of statements that I disagreed with was much larger than those that I agreed with. First, few in the class know how to write in cursive. Writing in cursive, for me, is more favorable then writing in print. After asking around, the majority of the responses were yes, others know how to write in cursive as well. Many of us were taught in 3rd or 4th grade, these days part of our generation simply chose not to write in cursive anymore, but that does not mean that we do not know how. Next, Fergie is a pop singer and not a princess. Normally, I would agree with this statement, but after seeing the Black Eyed Peas in concert this past spring, I now know that Fergie is an absolute princess! She seemed more concerned with how her hair looked rather than her how good her lip singing was. She is still amazing though! This next one made me feel like people think the class of 2014 has lived under a rock their entire lives while reading it: we have never recognized that pointing to our wrists was a request for the time of day. Hello! We know what a watch is! Next on my list of arguments is possibly one of the statements that I disagree with the most. Children have always been trying to divorce their parents. Every child cringes at the sight or sound of their parents fighting, but I never tried to get my parents divorced because of this. Last but definitely not least, I pity the poor animal that has been trained to respond to the name Beethoven, which has NEVER been a good name for a dog!!
Overall, the majority of the bullets on the list were unfamiliar to me. Who the heck is Bud Selig or rapper Ice-T anyways? How old were the people who created this list? Why did it not say anything that we actually cared to know about when we were eight years old rather than DNA or Beavis and Butt-head? In conclusion, like the list says, the college class of 2014 reminds us, once again, that a generation comes and goes in the blink of our eyes, which are, like the rest of us, getting older and older. Those of us who are a part of the class of 2014 are in the same position though. We, as well, are getting older and before we know it we will be receiving our diplomas from Iowa State. (:
- Kizzie Ryerson
