What I learned this week

By: RyneTate
Photography Editor

Are we at our best when we are busy or when we are stable? It’s a simple question, but I just can’t seem to find an answer. Maybe it’s different for everyone, but it seems to me like there are expectations on all of us. Expectations from our parents, our friends, our professors, our advisers and our bosses that we are trying to live up to. I remember a professor telling me that this was the four years when I could dive into literature and study and learn the most incredible things. This idea made sense; I’m at college, right? I should naturally be striving to learn as much as possible. But then I realized sometime during my first spring here at Monmouth: books don’t make the best of friends. And I started to question the real value in grades and in grade-point-averages. These were other people’s measurements of me, not my own. Naturally, my GPA has taken a hit since my days as an idealist student, but I would argue that my education has not.

I thought about the inverse: is college about growing up? Between dramatic relationships with friends and significant others, I am inclined to think maybe college is even more about learning how to cope with the world around me than it is about learning something in a classroom. I’ve had some of the most amazing times and loved some of the finest people I could ever hope to have met. But, I’ve also learned a lot about the politics of life: the times when you take a side, or you put your head in your hands and cry. I’ve had the nights where I can’t get my friends out of my room to go to bed and even if I could, I don’t think I really wanted to. I can remember nights where politics and religion have kept me talking to near-strangers in the dorm lobby until four in the morning. When I don’t show up to class the next day, my professor scowled at me for not caring about my learning. The irony is grand, but I had to take it with a smile.

I have been trying to learn one thing in particular… balance. I learned early on that Faust’s feud with complacency was a lesson well-learned – the worst of all evils is doing nothing, sitting and waiting. I also learned that burning out is a real threat. The weeks where you don’t have time to sleep or chill out with friends are much harder than the ones when you can’t figure out what to do with your time. This semester, I went a step further. I took on every project I could. I frankly miss playing baseball, but I know what kind of shape I’m in when I have to get up at five in the morning ever since spring of my freshman year. I’m taking photos, writing articles, working on screenplays, taking a lot of classes and assisting residents at all hours of the day. I can honestly tell you I’m happy.

There was a wrench thrown into the clockwork I’ve made out of all of this chaos. This is a wrench that I would never wish upon even the greatest of my enemies – a death in the family. It is an event in which the world slows down to a standstill and all of the adrenaline and caffeinefilled moments of our busybody lives hit the brakes. I like to think that what I am doing is important, I like to think that what all of us young people do is important. It truly can be, whether it is learning about Socrates or about the social scene, we all learn some amazing things in our time here at Monmouth College. As important as that personal and intellectual growth is, there is something that is even more important – family. I don’t care if I miss a week’s worth of class, I don’t care if I miss a due date, I don’t care if a resident locks himself out of his room at three in the morning – my place is with my family in a time like this. I’ve learned a lot this week while sitting in a hospice in Springfield. I learned that love is the best form of currency. I’ve learned that empathy and understanding people is the greatest way to make our constant judgments of them. I’ve learned that no matter how many times someone screws up or says the wrong thing, there is always the ability to forgive and move forward. As much as our busy little lives at Monmouth College mean, and as much as we learn from them, I still believe that some of the best lessons in life are learned from the loving relationships we have with the people that mean the most to us – our family (and of course our friends).

I would like to take the time to thank the people who’ve made me a better student – my professors and advisors. I would like to thank my friends in the clubhouse and beyond. I would like to thank my boss, Kurt Carlson, who has helped me through some really hard times, this being no exception. I would like to thank my family for all of their love and support. Last, I would like to thank my grandmother, Charlene, who even in her absence is still teaching me how to treat the people I meet in this world. I love you and I miss you Grandma.