What It’s like to be a “Newbie”

Anyone can relate to the intimidating feeling of entering a new environment full of unfamiliar people and ideas, and I can speak for myself (and hopefully others) by saying that my first week at Penn State was certainly a confusing transition. Between getting lost on campus and trying to get in sync into a new fast pace routine, my experiences certainly mirrored Mae’s, as a “newbie” at The Circle.  It couldn’t be more fitting to have had Penn State Students read The Circle: Mae exemplifies every first-year student’s experience as they arrive in State College – going on tours of the “vast and rambling [main] campus” (Eggers 1) and listening in on orientation sessions of the innumerable opportunities the school has to offer.

Penn State and the Circle alike have strong institutions within themselves that work tirelessly to promote a sense of unity within their respective communities. In a conversation with Mae, Dan says, “We want this to be a workplace, sure, but it should also be a humanplace… this is a place where our humanity is respected, our opinions are dignified, our voices are heard” (Egger 47). While the actual work is both a priority for students of Penn State and workers at The Circle, they share the common value of emphasizing the community aspect of where they work and who they work with.

The two communities do have a divide in regards to how often technology and media is used as a main source of work. I hate to admit that college students now have become so dependent on technology that they seem lost without their smartphones, but The Circle physically relies on computers for their business. The Circle is centered around using laptops and cameras to combine each worker’s personal information into one identity to share with their community – simply put, “all that happens must be known” (68). Metaphorically, at Penn State, students are not stuck behind a computer all day – Penn State ensures that the students here have both privacy and individualism.

Similar to Mae, I am beyond ecstatic to begin my journey at Penn State.

One thought on “What It’s like to be a “Newbie””

  1. I completely agree with that, especially the technology input. The thing about the Circle was that no one had any privacy at all but here at Penn State, even with the great dependence on technology, we still have anonymity and control of who sees what. Even in these blogs, a comment doesn’t technically have to be approved and it won’t be shown to the world. It’s also rather easy to relate to Mae in the sense of being new because even when a student comes from a big city, the transition is still to a different setting with different people and it may be easy for some and difficult for others no matter the background. And it all depends on how an individual perceives their surroundings, just how Mae was super excited to work at the Circle, (how every high school senior is excited to leave to college), and then she sees her “desk” and everything changes for the time being (not all college students like where they chose to go). All newbies have to deal with that acclimation so yeah.

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