When I was 15 or so, I found myself walking around with some of my friends in California. I was traveling for one of my sport karate tournaments, and we had finished competing earlier that day. The friends I was with soon devised a plot to get high, even though our coach would’ve, metaphorically, lynched them if he found out they were under the influence of weed.
It made me uncomfortable. For as long as I can remember, I have always been a goody-two-shoes. I’ve always stuck to the straight and narrow and followed the rules provided to me. So, the illegality in the actions of my peers made me uncomfortable and upset; not only because they were breaking the law, but because they were lying to the coach that trusted us to behave while under his watch. I soon retired for the night, avoiding the situation and removing myself from the awkward position I felt like I was in.
“Walking around in California” soon turned into, “Walking around in Rhode Island” and “Walking around in Manchester.” Now that I was older, this same issue kept popping up with the kids I consistently trained with. I did not feel comfortable or like I fit in.
Shortly thereafter, I retired from competing on the circuit. Once I had removed myself from the situation, I found that I had this overwhelming detestation for these kids. I had felt betrayed. I was hurt. I felt like I had let myself become friends with these awful people that refused to follow the rules presented to them. This attitude that anyone that drank or smoke weed was an awful person continued on for many years to follow.
As a freshman at Sewanee, my peers began testing their boundaries since they were away from home for the first time. They tried it all: binge drinking, smoking weed, and even some harder drugs. When I first got to the University of the South, I detested these people. Yet again, I felt as though I didn’t fit in and the people around me lacked a set of morals I found important for everyone in society to hold dear to them. This heavily stunted my ability to enjoy freshman year.
However, I got close to a couple of people, whom shall not be named, that fit this same category as my fellow sport karate competitors. They enjoyed drinking, indulging in some recreational marijuana use, and even sleeping around when they had the ability. Sure, I was uncomfortable at first, but these were my best friends. Soon, I was able to look past their flaws and realize they are able to respect my boundaries so I am able to respect their decisions. Yes, they are not following the morals I have set out for myself in life, but they are not necessarily bad people. These friends are fun to hang around, care about me as a person, and are always there when I need them. In fact, they were the people I first went running to to celebrate when I found out that my longtime girlfriend had been accepted to Sewanee!
By my current sophomore year, I have broken the habit to associate bad people with actions my peers had been making. Someone can enjoy a drink responsibly, or even go wild drinking and still be a good person. Actions do define people, but common mistakes for my age group can’t define people as good or bad people. This lesson and tolerance I have learned could not have been obtained if I didn’t attend Sewanee.
Sewanee has been good for me in many ways. Obviously, learning to not be judgmental and recognize the differences between a poor action and a poor person ranks near the top, but I have learned how to have a voice and address problems I find important. On top of just providing life lessons, it was a good place to be during my first two years of college. The small campus was what I needed at the time because I got amazing opportunities to coach frisbee at SAS, tutor, and be an Arcadian. All of those things were fun, rewarding, and worth it because I got to meet lots of cool people thanks to them!
However, I, along with many others, think of life as a book. Almost every book has chapters. Sewanee has been a wonderful chapter of my life and has provided me with two years of very needed exposure to the raw world. But, some chapters were made to be shorter or longer than others. For many people, Sewanee will be a full chapter encompassing four years on the mountain. For myself, my Sewanee chapter will still be full, but only encompass my freshman and sophomore years on the mountain.
It is time for me to turn the page and start a new chapter in my book of life. That new chapter will begin in the Fall of 2017 when I begin at the University of Georgia - Athens as a junior transfer. One thing I want everybody to know is that this decision was not made out of disdain for Sewanee. Sewanee has been an incredible place for me, as aforementioned, to grow both as a person and a student.
Yes, I have disagreements with aspects of the University. Everyone that goes to college will have some critique or disliking for one or more aspects of where they attend. Something can be good or fun without being perfect. Nothing is perfect. However, my passion to be in Athens is not seeded in these critiques. It’s about my opportunities both educationally and extracurricularly. I am doing what is best for me!
I’ve met people afraid to do what is best for them. Many of them collapse under peer pressure or feel afraid to have change because of the risks associated with not following these status quos. Change is good! Change is what I am aiming for when I get to the University of Georgia in the fall. Sewanee will always be a part of me. I was a Sewanee Arcadian and I was inducted into the Order of Gownsmen. I have friends and memories from Sewanee that I will never forget.
A year to just over a year from now I hope to be passing my MCAT with flying colors and playing D1 Ultimate Frisbee with UGA. When the time comes, I can almost guarantee there will be at least one or two friends from Sewanee I text when I’m achieving my dreams, if not one or two friends that will watch at least one dream in real time by coming to a few of my games.
When I competed on NASKA, my traditional Shotokan instructor always told me to not forget my traditional roots and that the difference between everyone else and I was that they could do all the flipping and tricking but I was strong in my basics. He always supported my need or want to move on and achieve bigger and better things, but also encouraged me to remember how I got there. This is no different. I hope to achieve all my goals in life and the University of Georgia is a major push to help me get there (I’m coming for you medical school and AUDL!). However, I will never forget Sewanee or the wonderful people there that gave me the roots to be who I am today.
So, with a little less than a month left on the mountain, I want to offer Sewanee, its faculty and staff, its students, and the Domain a parting statement: EQB, Ecce Quam Bonum.
