The Eternal Black Sheep

Max Rubin
Theta Xi

I am an Animation and Digital Arts major. It’s a lot of art-related work and very tense as the animation business is a highly competitive one. Being an ‘art kid’ in the Greek system, however, has always been a source of differences between my fellow brothers and I, as almost everyone in my house is an engineering major of some kind. I am the only one who sits alone with a blank note pad to do figure drawings. None of my brothers will ever fully understand what I mean when I talk about the design elements of a painting or the surprisingly good color compositions of Rihanna’s latest music videos. (Seriously, they’re amazing.) I of course share none of my classes with any of my brothers, nor can I help or be helped by any of them on homework-related issues.

These separations do not truly cause any problems, aside from a few ‘trade school’ jokes. No, the issue with being an art kid on the row does not stem from within the Greek system itself, but rather from the world outside.

There is no need to describe the public image of the greek system. To the naked eye, we are an unproductive, selfish, time-wasting group of people who can only think of the latest top 40s mix. It’s worse with art kids; stereotypically speaking, art kids are polar opposites of the archetypal ‘bro’ and 'soror' persona. Hence, this is where my problem lies.

To immerse oneself in his or her work with little social interaction is the lifestyle of your typical art student, and that is not a bad thing. I am the same way sometimes. When I need to do my work, I shut myself away from everyone else, and I don’t return until I have completed a satisfactory job. My fellow art kids don’t see my process, and they certainly don’t see me work. For all they know, I’m “off with the bros” 24/7, and their suspicions are only confirmed if I ever come to class with work that is not as good as everyone else’s. This rarely happens, though, as I take my studies very seriously.

I am currently enrolled in a graduate-level animation class, however, and the work intensity of this course is higher than anything I’ve ever experienced. I spend nearly my entire week on this class’ assignments, and my work is still rarely up to par simply because I am not as experienced as the other students. As a result, my classmates draw connections between this and my participation in a fraternity; one student even went as far as to tell me that my frat hinders my creativity. Despite the fact that this was a joke, the stab to my ego was still felt.

At this point I’ve mostly said what I needed to say. Being Greek in general can be difficult because the truth is that most people outside the row think the same negative things about all of us. Being an art kid on the row is a constant catch-22, as no matter where we are, whether on the row or in class, we are always the black sheep of the group. I want to end this article, then, with some advice not just for art kids on the row, but for anyone who is having issues with being a member of starkly opposing groups:

- Let the adversity you encounter fuel you and inspire you to be the best you can be in all areas of your life. Giving up the fight and letting others knock you down only means that they are right in what they think about you.

- No one knows you better than yourself, and everyone has their own experiences. If you feel your work is worse because it is different from the work of others, remember that your work has its own personal touch that you and only you can give to it.

- Remember that you are at school right now, and the purpose of that is to learn. Getting good grades is worth less than an actual education, including learning from your own mistakes. When you do something wrong, let it serve simply as a lesson do better next time.

- While you should never let your Greek organization get in the way of studies, you should also not completely ignore your fraternity or sorority. Everyone has different reasons for being a part of the Greek system, but everyone gains useful and unique experiences and lessons from it. Think of the row (as well as anywhere you spend time) as a secondary campus from which you can learn and grow.

- When people put you down for being Greek, just remember that they don’t know the things they are missing out on that you get to experience on a daily basis. The best policy is to feel sorry for your enemies.

And finally, one of my ultimate mantras of life:

- Always, always, always remember to love yourself. Without that, you have nothing.