Writing Your Story at Whitman

My friends and I have a running gag that we are the cast of a Community-esq sitcom. With a perfectly balanced cast (friend group) and an interesting setting (Whitman, of course!), even the simplest of events suddenly seem like perfect plot points.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, first, to show you that you’ll find people who understand you here at Whitman. For me, it was a group of loveable weirdos who (rightfully) believe their lives are important enough to warrant an audience. For you, it could be an imaginative crew of hardcore Dungeon & Dragons enthusiasts or a team of hard-working athletes who love their sport more than anything. As for the second reason I’m sharing this, to demonstrate how Whitman supports its students in their pursuit of greatness.

The original “cast” of the show consisted of a particularly active group of North Hall residents who all met while attending events put on by their RAs and RD (Resident Assistants and Resident Director). My first appearance resulted from an Outdoor Program rafting trip with one of the North Hall residents. Over the entire course of our first season (our first semester at Whitman), events and activities planned by the college created new story arcs and reinforced the bonds between our “characters.”

All this is to say, Whitman College created the perfect environment for us to explore who we are and where we belong in this wacky world. Before college, some of my friends never saw themselves as “main character material.” At Whitman, they learned that everyone has a story to tell—even them! I, on the other hand, probably had a bit of an over-inflated sense of my own greatness before coming to college. Here at Whitman, I’ve begun to grasp the importance of others taking center stage. There’s power in being a side character in someone else’s story.

Whether you fit in the mystery genre (where did your Whitman ID disappear to?) or science fiction (BBMB majors, I’m looking at you), Whitman will set you up for your happy ending.

Zoe Perkins’ 25 (she/her) is a sophomore from Hillsboro, Oregon. She intends on majoring in Rhetoric, Writing and Public Discourse. Zoe and her roommate believe they are being lightly haunted by the ghost of Narcissa Whitman.