On September 6th, 2012, the class of 2016 and myself experienced the first convocation address to all freshman students about the exciting upcoming year at Appalachian State. As I entered the stadium, I was surprised to see how large it was. There might have been more people at convocation than my graduation, and I had a class of 376 students. I have never seen the chancellor speak before, so it was good to hear him talk about this class of 2016. To be honest, the convocation address was not the most exciting thing to listen to in the early morning, but overall I am glad I attended this and know the leaders of this school. My favorite part of convocation was the speech by Novella Carpenter. I enjoyed watching her slideshow pictures of her urban farm in Oakland, and the stories she told behind the pictures. She was very funny as well; mentioning a cat acting like it was on acid.
I admire her efforts to prove her point that urban farming can be achieved. She believes that this country is a country of isolation, with beauty but full of loneliness. Because of rural solitude, individuals are unhappy. Novella wants individuals to achieve the goal of farming without living on the countryside or in solitude, still having friends. Because having a farm in a urban city is not common, I believe Carpenter is saying that anything can be done if you put all your work and effort into it. She spent months taking care of her small farm and animals, and was a successful urban farm. I agree with Carpenter in a way that living in solitude can lead to loneliness, because having no one around to build relationships with can be a problem. The other side of this argument is that there is many farmers who love living on their own in a small, rural, desolate community and are very successful as well. Overall, I believe she addressed the students well and gave us encouraging advice for this school year. Her hard work and determination to complete this urban farm should be an example about how our attitude should be throughout college, determined and hoping to accomplish a goal. I am very determined make good grades freshman year and try my hardest. I also believe she was as individual. She was a very odd, interesting individual but none the less a progressive outgoing individual. She stands up for what she believes in, and she makes a difference in the farming community. I think all students at Appalachian State should follow this principle of wanting to make a difference in the community, or in any way possible. She did something out of the box, and I believe she is trying to make us students think that way too. Don’t be ordinary, do something that makes a difference.