By Jessica Hickerson
Remembering as one
Sometimes our differences are what make us the same.
I am sitting here in Parrish Court facing the Humanities Quad, silently observing every person who walks by. I see several guys and gals wearing their fraternity and sorority t-shirts, proudly representing their brothers and sisters. I see one student in the distance that seems to be carrying an instrument, a saxophone maybe, heading to marching band practice, a place I too will be visiting shortly to prepare for the next big football game. Every time I look up, I see University of Louisville t-shirts, baseball caps, pants, shorts, and the list goes on. No matter how different our cultures, lives, majors, body types, or activities, the support and representation shown on this campus is exactly what brings the melting pot of thousands of students together as one.
The diversity of races and cultures among the campus is undeniable. If you were to sit in a class of, say, 150 students, you would be able to see 150 different and unique people. No two people have been or will ever be exactly the same. Nevertheless, the moment a U of L t-shirt is put on, the moment a jersey is worn, or the moment those good-looking guys paint their chests red for the game, the student body no longer is 20,000 different varieties of man or woman, but strongly formed into one. One voice, proudly representing their university.
What an excellent time to do just that: to be able to unite no matter how big the differences may be is one of the most awesome powers we can be given. This week, we celebrate remembrance. Remembrance of lives lost and patriotism gained. We will remember and mourn together as a university family. No one can deny us the right to reflect, to comfort, or to even cry together.
It is a time of peace. It is a time of strength. And it is a time of unity. No matter how different we are, this week will affect us all the same. One year ago, the tragedy affected us all the same. America’s heart was broken. In my mind, she is still healing, and every person who sticks a flag on their car or wears an American T-shirt is in his or her own special way healing our hearts… and the strength of this nation.
It is this that I implore to each and every one of you on the anniversary of this tragic day: Go up to one person to whom you have never spoken before and say, “Hey, how are you doing?”
In life, we simply let too many things and, more importantly, people pass us by. We take for granted all of the wonderfully different people we have right on our very own campus, and don’t see that one day, it all could be taken away, and you will have missed your chance to perhaps change someone’s life or at least brighten their day.
This week and every week it is important to celebrate peace, to celebrate remembrance, and to celebrate diversity. Often the most fantastic people are within an arm’s length.
Celebrate life, for it is life that shapes us into who we are now and who we will become. Celebrate freedom, for it is freedom that allows us to be different and special. Celebrate people, for it is people who are most important and who deserve to be remembered.
