Chapter One-Hundred-and-Twenty-Three: Write Your Name On These Walls
A couple of weeks ago, I had to say goodbye to the eighth graders I had spent the majority of the spring semester with. While their time in school wasn't quite over yet, mine was ("Perks of college," I said to them). On the night before my very last day, I was suddenly full of sadness and some emptiness. "I never really got to tell them how important they are," my heart whispered to me. So, at midnight, I constructed a poster, to remind them of what I wanted to say when I never really got the chance to.
A line that stuck out to me was, "You are destined for great things."
I wrote that for my eighth graders because, from hanging out with them twice a week, it is really evident that these kiddos are smart, talented, and have so much potential to change the world around them. Well then I think about the people my age, and wonder, where does that same hope go? We're all so focused on the question "Who am I?" rather than "What will I do?"
Early on this month was First Friday Art Trail in Lubbock. There were some opportunities to interact with the art, which was very popular. In some cases, it was answering a question; other times, it was simply writing what we see.
This was also the opportunity for some students, particularly from the College of Architecture, to display their work. We even got to see some of our friends' work, like Nikki and Carolina!
This was a really neat art experience, because some of us simply got to respond about our particular perspective, and others (like Nikki) literally got to offer their own work as a perspective.
A couple of days later, the students in the Catholic Student Association were invited to the construction site of our new student center. Before the walls are to be put up and constructed, we were offered the chance of a lifetime - to sign the walls. Of course, once the real walls are up, our signatures will not be seen, but it's very cool to think that we have permanently altered this future building of ours! Mary and I went together and signed in one of the future study rooms, alongside many of our friends.
On May 18th, we celebrated Mary's 21st birthday! Well, actually, we celebrated on May 17th at Walk-On's and later our house with the best cookie cake and ice cream combo ever (not to mention the great friends!!). The next day we woke up late, cooked a breakfast of champions, and watched The Office for a couple of hours. It was a great birthday celebration for a great roomie and best friend.
May 18th was also the day that Nikki left to go back home, so of course we had to take our traditional roomie semester picture! This was quite a year, and I feel like we've all had our own fair share of trials, but being together has made it that much easier. God bless this girls!
Also, we cannot wait for Bailey's highly-anticipated return this upcoming fall! We can finally take another picture with her, Until then -
On May 22, Sarah (not me, a different one) turned 21, too! I stayed in town just for her. We had quite a fun day; especially with all of our friends!
After all of the fun that was the spring semester, it was time for me to return home for the summer. Now, if we were eighth graders, we would spend a lot of the last days signing yearbooks. We would sign our names to look back upon in later years. Now that I am older, it is fun to see all of the names that were scribbled into the pages that defined my adolescent years. I can still put a face to the names in my yearbooks...Granted, it helps that their actual pictures are in the yearbooks, but what sticks with me the most are the memories I have with these people. Oh, Kimberly? She was my best friend and was headstrong and always wore the best clothes. Monica? She had a huge heart for others and a passion for theater. Matthew? A long-time friend that was both talented and humble. Whenever we sign our names, whether it's in a yearbook, on an art piece in Lubbock, or even on the walls of a future student center, we leave traces of ourselves. We leave behind what people, in that moment, remember of us.
I titled this blog post "Write Your Name On These Walls" because we're all looking for what defines us, but what if we focus more on how we define ourselves? What legacy do I want to leave on the wall? I encourage us all to find ways to reach out to others and to create memories that decorate the walls like a beautiful mosaic. Whether you're known for your kindness, or for being a great friend, or for always having a smile on your face, or even just always having a plan - use your talent to help the world. My friends, that is how we leave a legacy. That is how we Write Our Names On These Walls.
As always, thanks for reading. Write you soon!
A line that stuck out to me was, "You are destined for great things."
I wrote that for my eighth graders because, from hanging out with them twice a week, it is really evident that these kiddos are smart, talented, and have so much potential to change the world around them. Well then I think about the people my age, and wonder, where does that same hope go? We're all so focused on the question "Who am I?" rather than "What will I do?"
Early on this month was First Friday Art Trail in Lubbock. There were some opportunities to interact with the art, which was very popular. In some cases, it was answering a question; other times, it was simply writing what we see.
"How do you love?"
What do you see?
This was also the opportunity for some students, particularly from the College of Architecture, to display their work. We even got to see some of our friends' work, like Nikki and Carolina!
Nikki's work! (top)
A couple of days later, the students in the Catholic Student Association were invited to the construction site of our new student center. Before the walls are to be put up and constructed, we were offered the chance of a lifetime - to sign the walls. Of course, once the real walls are up, our signatures will not be seen, but it's very cool to think that we have permanently altered this future building of ours! Mary and I went together and signed in one of the future study rooms, alongside many of our friends.
May 18th was also the day that Nikki left to go back home, so of course we had to take our traditional roomie semester picture! This was quite a year, and I feel like we've all had our own fair share of trials, but being together has made it that much easier. God bless this girls!
Also, we cannot wait for Bailey's highly-anticipated return this upcoming fall! We can finally take another picture with her, Until then -
On May 22, Sarah (not me, a different one) turned 21, too! I stayed in town just for her. We had quite a fun day; especially with all of our friends!
After all of the fun that was the spring semester, it was time for me to return home for the summer. Now, if we were eighth graders, we would spend a lot of the last days signing yearbooks. We would sign our names to look back upon in later years. Now that I am older, it is fun to see all of the names that were scribbled into the pages that defined my adolescent years. I can still put a face to the names in my yearbooks...Granted, it helps that their actual pictures are in the yearbooks, but what sticks with me the most are the memories I have with these people. Oh, Kimberly? She was my best friend and was headstrong and always wore the best clothes. Monica? She had a huge heart for others and a passion for theater. Matthew? A long-time friend that was both talented and humble. Whenever we sign our names, whether it's in a yearbook, on an art piece in Lubbock, or even on the walls of a future student center, we leave traces of ourselves. We leave behind what people, in that moment, remember of us.
I titled this blog post "Write Your Name On These Walls" because we're all looking for what defines us, but what if we focus more on how we define ourselves? What legacy do I want to leave on the wall? I encourage us all to find ways to reach out to others and to create memories that decorate the walls like a beautiful mosaic. Whether you're known for your kindness, or for being a great friend, or for always having a smile on your face, or even just always having a plan - use your talent to help the world. My friends, that is how we leave a legacy. That is how we Write Our Names On These Walls.
As always, thanks for reading. Write you soon!
Comments
Post a Comment