| “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” | |
interestingly enough, i had the opportunity this weekend to reconnect with an incredible group of people that i went to school with....and it was such an amazing time, on several fronts. and in terms of how i think about things, it just really reminded me that we are all a part of something bigger....usually lots of somethings.....after all, its our "groups" that help identify us. its our relationships that help make us who we are. and who we are is so much bigger than just our individual identities. in a crazy circular kind of way, we are ALL penn state.
now i know that sounds crazy, but hear me out. in a larger sense, penn state is an institution of higher learning, at the center of an incredibly devisive controversy, wrapped in an historic athletic tradition. whether you are a football fan or not, chances are you have heard of joe paterno or the nittany lions somewhere along the way. and the thread that runs thru that campus is the chant "we are......penn state" - you can't go anywhere that someone doesnt yell "we are" - and whoever is around yells "penn state". on one level its a really cool tradition....but on a deeper level, its a philosophy - that each member is a part of the whole that makes penn state who they are.....and it takes each member to fully define the organization. the fact that the horrible actions of the few have had such a negative impact on the community is in itself a tragedy, but it has also created the renewed opportunity to redefine what "we are" means.
and what we are is so much more than one person. that fact that billy obrien was named head coach at psu is what brought us all to the school the weekend. and obviously there is a spotlight on him - and incredible pressure - but even obie is NOT penn state...he is a part of the WE that will determine how that community grows and evolves. and its pretty obvious from the picture, that he is bringing an awful lot of the good ole brown community with him.....this is where the WE in we are comes out.....
each person that makes up the community at large brings their own community with them. and their own groups and experiences. obie brings with him not only all of his football experience, but his family and friends and traditions....and all of the things that each of THOSE experiences meant to him.....penn state now has a whole lot of new england in it - from the accents down to the support system that followed obie from his home state and his alma mater. and it follows that ALL of us that knew obie at brown brought our own experiences THERE....college is at its heart a giant mixing bowl where people from all walks and backgrounds are thrown together into one place in time. they all take away different experiences and leave different parts of themselves behind. but its another community that they will forever belong to.
before college, its high school and where you grow up that helps to shape you......i will always be a laplata warrior in my heart, just like i will always a brown bear. but even more than that i will always have my roots in southern maryland.....its those roots that define you from the beginning - and when you TAKE those pieces of yourself as you travel through your life, you are sharing parts of yourself that then become part of the larger "whole".....its the quirky small things (like the 10oz bud light that i took to the tailgate) and the larger cultural differences (ya'll) that both define where we are from, but also enlighten and broaden the base of the community.
ultimately this whole thing starts at home.....how i was raised, the rules my parents set up, how i was praised and rewarded - their expectations and my experiences are what initially shaped the woman i would become. and THEIR experiences shaped the kind of parents that they would be. its a neverending cycle that links us all. its how a first generation college graduate from a middle class family in southern maryland would grow up to be friends with a legacy brown guy who would go on to take the reins at penn state. its the common thread of all of our lives that brings us to the table of commonality.
just like the feedback i've received this year has reminded me, we are all going through the same things - of course to varying degrees - but we are all just trying to be good people...raise good kids....make a positive contribution to society....and to just be happy.
we are all mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, co-workers, teammates, alumni
we are all hard workers, support systems, community members
we are all hoping for the best, preparing for the future, making the most of every day.
WE ARE
No comments:
Post a Comment