By Jessica Mazzola | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
When Emery Bergmann, a 17-year-old graduate of Montclair High School, started as a freshman at Cornell University this fall, she anticipated meeting a lot of new friends, and having a lot of fun. The process, she came to find, wasn’t as easy as she had hoped.
So, when a homework assignment in her introduction to video production class required her to make a project about a transition, she tackled the topic of adjusting to college.
Since uploading the project on YouTube to hand it in to her professor, the video has taken on a life of its own. What Bergmann said started as organic shares on social media sites turned into the video becoming so popular online, it gained the attention of parenting websites and the Today Show's parenting section. Her video, which honestly discusses how lonely she felt during her first few months of college, has been seen nearly 200,000 times.
NJ Advance Media spoke with Bergmann about the project, and the unexpected impact it has had. See her answers to our questions below.
How would you compare high school to college?
In high school…everyone’s kind of together — you have classes intersecting and social activities intersecting. College is a little different, I think, just because of the way things are set up. … I think it’s definitely harder to make friends just, proximity-wise. You might be literally living with people, but (your schedules and what you’re involved with) are very different.
Emery Bergmann. (Courtesy photo)
Why do you think this video resonated with so many people?
Originally, I had just made this video for myself. This was a personal diary, kind of. It was just me verbalizing my experience. The fact that everyone else happened to connect with it was just a happy coincidence. I think the reason it got so big is because talking about loneliness is not something that people like to do, especially in public. If you’re lonely, it shows that you’re not successful socially...so I don’t think that’s something that people like to embrace.
They’re supposed to make all these friends in college, but it’s harder than they expected…I think that me actually talking about it just gave a voice to that and showed people, hey, it’s OK to feel this way. You’re not a loser if you just haven’t found your people yet.
What has the reaction been on campus?
Has it been people stopping me left and right to talk about my video? Not so much. But, it’s more like people I interact with will mention, “oh, I saw your video.”
And, a bunch of freshmen reached out to me, and were like, “hey, if you ever want to hang out, let’s hang out.” So, that was really nice.
My professors all really liked it. … People have definitely been really excited about it, which has been really cool. And, I’ve been met with a lot of (comments) like, “hey, good job on your homework.”
Emery Bergmann with her roommate. (Courtesy photo)
What have you learned from this experience?
I think the most important thing I learned is that, since I made this video for me, and wasn’t expecting this massive wave of feedback and reaction, is just that this is really so common. I’ve had people of all different ages saying, “I felt this way when I moved to a new city for a new job,” or “I felt the same way when I went to grad school.”
It’s been really nice to see that it can connect people at so many different levels. It’s not just something people face as freshmen in college. That it was really such a universal feeling was really comforting.
What are your hopes for the rest of the school year?
It has been a perk to be viral on the internet. But really, to continue the momentum that I’ve been feeling creatively. The fact that I’ve been able to express myself so fully has been so fun, and I’m hoping that I can keep that up all throughout the year, and continue making projects that I’m interested in.
Emery Bergmann. (Courtesy photo)
What's an important takeaway from this experience that people should know?
What’s interesting is, I hate showing people my artwork. … I had just uploaded this to YouTube because (the video file) didn’t fit on my flash drive. … The fact that it was on YouTube was painful for me, a little bit. It took until it got over 1,000 views for me to even share it on my own Facebook.
It was definitely a crazy experience, but I think it just goes to show, if you love what you’re doing…you’re going to come out with something successful. … I mean, I put in like a minute of me dancing because I thought it would be funny and be just my teacher seeing it, not 100,000 people. But, if you love what you’re doing, I think your work will show that.
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Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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