Dear Reader,
The holiday season is possibly my favorite season of the year – I can’t help but fall in love with gently falling snow, the smell of pine and mint, and warm hot chocolate. That is, after all my finals are over. With the end of the semester rapidly approaching, I find myself headed swiftly toward panic considering what still must get done before December 22nd rolls around.
Often this time of year is accompanied by a bit of anxiety and feelings of inadequacy. The quest for “perfection” – ever unachievable but always alluring – is a familiar struggle to many (myself included!). Yet in the quest for academic perfection, may we remember the words of Walt Whitman: “I contain multitudes” (Song of Myself, 51).
We contain multitudes, we are not monoliths. You are not just a good student; you could be an athlete, a musician, a kind sibling, a thoughtful friend, someone who really enjoys playing chess, the friend who always offers to drive, a person who decorates for Christmas in November… I guess my point is, I am not defined by the one attribute I’ve chosen for myself and neither are you. Each of the many characteristics we attribute to identify with are valuable in their individual ways. Reader, you’ve heard it before but I’m going to tell you again: perfection is not possible (at least, in this life). There are many other things worth reaching for.
May this be the semester you get an A minus or heaven forbid! – a C! – and continue to live unbruised.
Happy holidays,
Megan Baird
Editor-in-Chief