I am not sure exactly when, but my eyes opened sometime during a long lecture about standpoint epistemology in Introduction to Sociology. Before this moment, I only paid enough attention to my professor to regurgitate simple facts on the test. But at some point during that fateful spring 2023 semester — between when the cold bites your nose and the flowers start to sprout on campus — I found my passion for sociology while sitting on the left side of the classroom. My passion for learning, the reason I came to Emory University, sprouted alongside the spring flowers.
If I were to predict my future as a first-year student, I would have foreseen myself as an accountant — yes, the kind that crunches numbers in a cubicle, opens QuickBooks and files information away neatly and bureaucratically. While my real aspiration was to perform on Broadway, I was good at math and accounting was a safer goal. However, during my second semester at Emory, I became disillusioned with accounting. I realized that I was not naturally proficient at financial forecasting and sucked at balancing sheets. More importantly, I discovered I did not want to be confined to a cubicle tucked away from people and the social interaction I craved. My longing for something more than numbers and figures only made my craving to interact with people stronger. I yearned to critically analyze every small interaction and delve deeply into understanding other people and our society.
Amid this desire to understand people, I finally woke up and smelled the roses one day — I saw the benefit of a liberal arts education deeply rooted in the need to understand myself and others. Standpoint epistemology, as I learned in my sociology class, is a theory that recognizes how social identity impacts one’s understanding of the world. However, in reality, this concept extends far beyond that simple definition. The theory also emphasizes the importance of understanding diverse perspectives. Standpoint epistemology is the difference between feeling safe to freely speak and knowing you can safely speak due to your privilege.
I did not truly understand standpoint epistemology until I started to see how my life differed from those around me, but my sociology class piqued my curiosity and helped me discover my passion for understanding people. My intention to learn and explore further was deliberate — I have always enjoyed investigating the little things.
Looking up from my computer during class, I began to pay more attention than just the bare minimum. My instructor was interesting — when a sociology professor who has an anarchist flag tattooed on his arm started sharing details about his personal life, I wanted to listen. In class, he talked about his experience walking home late at night, feeling perfectly safe in the eerie darkness. To him, walking alone late at night was perfectly safe and did not warrant a moment of hesitation since he presented as a man. However, my professor then juxtaposed his experience with his friend, who is a woman. This woman felt generally unsafe in the same situation. While walking alone at night, she was cautious and afraid of what might be lurking in the dark shadows. The stark contrast between these two friends’ experiences depicts the importance of multiple viewpoints when developing an overall picture of life, reminding me of why I chose to study sociology — to better understand myself and others.
Hearing this story in that small classroom on the second floor of Oxford College’s Johnson Hall was a stroke of luck — luck to be at Emory, and luck to be in sociology class. My professor opened my eyes to a future filled with colorful stories and perspectives that relay insurmountable information about the beauty of life. Nothing can relate to the sweet moment of serendipity when you, by chance, learn something new or find your true passion like I did. Nothing can relate to the intense and overwhelming happiness of finally understanding someone whom you have been longing to know just the slightest bit better, even if that person is yourself.
This moment of unexpected realization shifted my entire college experience. Instead of finding my calling in a maze of numbers and figures, I found my calling inside of the classroom and through the beautiful wave of conversation with others. I no longer cared about the monotonous task of forecasting and calculating. Rather, I wanted to focus on people. People make up Emory’s community and our greater society, so my educational goals drove me to become more cognizant of what life is like for different people. Understanding how one person can have a different view of the same moment is life-changing and valuable. I crave to understand people and learn how each individual shapes our broader society, and am lucky to understand the essentiality of the desire to understand others.
This yearning to step into someone else’s shoes led me to declare my major in sociology. I am privileged to have the opportunity to delve into a subject like sociology and gain an understanding so profound that it shaped my Emory experience. Through cherishing every moment and social interaction, both the good and the bad, I can appreciate the person I strive to be today. I know that my life will be filled with learning and understanding, and although my academic path may be difficult and tiring, I am glad I took the leap to jump from my shoes into others’.
Contact Zoe Grotjan at zoe.grotjan@emory.edu
