An Outsider's Perspective: Penn State v. The Circle (Circle Post 1)

The thought of starting a virtually new life in a bigger, better place than where one grows up is definitely exciting and somewhat daunting at the same time.  It's exciting to think about all of the new things to experience and the new people to meet, but it's also scary to think about these things.  The overwhelming sense of excitement and nervousness is enough to drive anyone over the edge.  Mae Holland experienced all of these feelings and emotions as she embarked on her journey as a Circler, and I also experienced these same feelings as a began my journey as a Nittany Lion.

Penn State and The Circle are very similar.  Both are huge, modern, creme de la creme institutions.  Everything is so advanced and seemingly better than anything you could possibly get anywhere else.  One thing I noticed was that everyone at The Circle seemed to have an absolute love for The Circle; there was nothing wrong with The Circle, nor could anything bad ever come from it.  I kind of get the same impression from Penn Staters.  The atmosphere is almost cult-like.  Don't get me wrong, I've fully embraced the Penn State cult and I love Penn State, but it's something I noticed before I got to campus and I definitely have been noticing since I arrived.  There are also wild parties thrown both at Penn State and The Circle, and everyone seems to have a great time whether they are actually working or having fun.

There are obviously some differences between Penn State and The Circle, too.  For example, Penn State is a university and The Circle is a workplace.  There are some other small differences, like at The Circle, one receives upgraded versions of their laptops, tablets, phones, etc.  Penn State doesn't provide that luxury for its students.  However, so far in my reading, I haven't really noticed many differences between Penn State and The Circle other than the small distinguishers between a university and a workplace.

So far, The Circle and Penn State seem like pretty similar experiences.  If The Circle truly is like Penn State, then I can understand why Mae must love it so much.