Thanks, Holy Cross.

Semester 1 is officially complete.

On the first day I went to class at Holy Cross, my Monsteratt professor shared a beautiful poem with the class, entitled The Summer Day by Mary Oliver. It’s concluding line asks the reader,

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

That’s a rather convicting line for a Major: undecided kid.

The recent death of Nelson Mandela has prompted me to reflect on those words, and on the question of what constitutes a meaningful life. Indeed, it’s easy, in light of how remarkable his life was, to trivialize my own. In a day, I might work a Kimball shift, go to some club meetings, go to class, work on assignments. You might notice that liberating a nation isn’t in that list. But I have to believe that what happens on this campus does matter, and I think Mandela might too:

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” -Nelson Mandela

I’m wicked grateful that I get to devote at least 3.5 more years of my life to education at a place that really challenges me and where I learn new, valuable things every day. I might not have a specific plan of what my life will look like, but that also means I haven’t created limits for what I can learn or explore or become. In sum, my “one wild and precious life” isn’t wasted at Holy Cross, it’s enhanced. Thanks to all of the great professors who taught me this semester, the diverse mentors who pushed me through it, and the friends who wandered through it with me.

Happy Holidays and of course, 

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