Febuary 11, 2012

Adam Werksman

To listen to Adam's Tuesday Talk - click the play button...

The first step that you take when you are catching a fly ball during a baseball game or practice is backwards. You do this so you can turn and run on the ball if it is over your head. The important part though, of this how-to of catching fly balls, is taking that step backwards. As an American citizen, I can reasonably expect to live 78.7 years, give or take a few. Time is the constant train that keeps moving whether you are on it or not. You don’t have a lot of time, especially at this place, to look back, or look to the future. We are a society focused on the now. Every single bit of every day and every minute is precisely scheduled, every movement is coordinated, and everything you do is most likely planned on some level. You never take time to take that step back, and look at the big picture, or look forward and imagine what is going to matter in the future.

So, let’s take that step back and look at what you might remember when you are 78.7 years old, and looking back on the entirety that is your life. From the very early years of your life you probably remember very few things. You might not remember what you’re beloved stuffed animal was when you were one or two years old. Do you remember your first steps? Or your first words? I know I certainly don’t. I don’t assume that you all remember what your favorite applesauce or food was as a baby or a toddler, although I am sure there are some freshmen who have yet to grow out of their pureed food phase. You might also not remember what your favorite mode of transportation was when you were four or five. Was it your miniature jeep? A cape made out of a bed sheet? The arms of a parent? A bike with training wheels? Or did you saddle up the family dog and ride it around the house like a miniature horse? Giddy up y’all. One of the things I distinctly remember is that from age four until age seven, I wanted nothing to eat besides Grilled Cheese and French Fries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I also remember that I had a fascination with catching any animals I could find, lizards, toads, birds; you name it, and starting my own zoo. When I was over the zookeeper idea, I decided that I wanted to be a gardener, and then from age seven until ten I fully thought I was going to be an architect after expertly designing my Lego blocks in my room. Do any of you remember elementary school? The book reports, the field trips to your local museums, and the 8-3 mundane ritual of Math, Science, Social Studies, PE, etc. etc. makes me cringe. I bet you guys all remember your first day of middle school though, and what it was like to finally be in the big leagues………. but then you quickly realized you were the lowest level of the totem pole. Your first school dance? Remember dancing to “This is Why I’m Hot, I’m hot cuz I’m fly”, or “Popping, Locking, and Dropping It” on the dance floor. Eighth grade graduation? That was probably one of the happier days, or in some cases sadder days of your recent life. The train that Time is started to chug along steadily now, and you were moving forward with it. Whatever you remember though of your early years, you are all here now, and you are all hopefully remembering some things that you learn here, whether they matter or not.

We have taken a step back, to look at our short lives thus far, and after taking a step back, we need to look at the big picture. I don’t think it is a very good idea to look at the small picture. Time is on a grand scale, and we are only small specks in the scheme of things, but that doesn’t mean that in our own individual worlds there isn’t a big picture. In our own worlds, we are so concerned about every little thing. We are concerned about every little grade, every little conversation you have with someone, who is popular, who is not, and who is hooking up with whom, the USUAL. It should not be like this. We need to seriously consider what is going to matter in five years. I can almost assure you that once I leave this place, and start college wherever I go, I will most likely not remember a lot of this place or my experiences here. But as I look back on what I remember right now, I’m happy with this small picture. However it’s time for the big one. If you haven’t realized it yet our time here is finite. The experiences, people, and everything that I have done here will all be small pictures on the big picture of my time here. My time here then, will be a small picture in the mosaic that is my life. The usual response when asked what this four year experience is like, most people would say things like wonderful, life-changing, best four years of my life. I agree with all of those people to some degree. This is a great four year experience and it changes you a lot. (Don’t worry; no matter how hard they try the faculty will not turn me into a Democrat) I just wonder in a few years how many changes that you went through here will still be present in you, and relevant to your daily life. You will have many small pictures that make up your time here. You don’t know what small pictures will stick with you. They could be of your daily lives, your experiences, or the people you meet and interact with. I can say with certainty that I have lots of small pictures. Here are a few that you might like. Last week, in probstat, Mr. Pierce told us to ask our neighbors if we had any questions about a specific part of the problem we were on since he was helping another member of our class. I turn to the person in front of me, Maiya, and ask her a question about the part I did not understand. The response I got was something like this. “Maiya isn’t here right now. Me- Ok, well then who is there? …….MY NAME IS SOFIA, I like the DEVIL, What’s your name?. Need I say more? That was one of the best small pictures I had from only last week. Another little set of recollections that I won’t be able to forget, are the games that the sophomore and junior boys like to play. One of their more favored games though, is Hide and Seek…. with my Boots. Various hiding places for my boots during this game have included microwaves; closets, showers, and bathroom stalls among many other places. Finally, how could I forget the “Happy Mondays” or the impromptu concerts that Warden Bryant gave during my 2 year sentence in the High House penitentiary…………… I mean dorm. In all seriousness however, I think that you will remember the gist of everything, the essence of it. You will take away some lessons probably, and you will take away knowledge. In the big picture, this will just be added to your cache of lessons, knowledge, and memories.

Your friends here on the other hand, might last forever. Friends are most likely going to be the ones that will pick you up when you are down, they will applaud and congratulate you when you shine, they will stand by you in the good times and in the bad times. If there is one thing that you will remember in five years, it will most likely be your friends. You will not remember every single person. It is very unlikely that the freshmen in this chapel will remember me in four years. The members of my class will most likely remember each other. We have made best friends over the years, and have made what I assume will be lifetime friendships………. and we might have also made some archenemies along the way. These friendships will stand the test of time. It doesn't matter whether you spend an hour and a half in the digilab with STrees or ENguyen, or just in the daily chats you may have as you go about your business. Every second spent with a friend or with someone of whose company you truly enjoy is a second spent wisely. You will never know until you step back and look at the big picture, what friends are going to be the ones that you keep until you’re 78.7 years old. Make the most out of every interaction, every hello, every hi-five, fist bump, you name it. You can’t predict who is going to matter to you, or be your friend until you look at the big picture. The one thing, that you are almost guaranteed to remember though, when you are good humored and awesome (or old and crotchety), is your friends.

So as Americans, we are only on the planet on average 78.7 years. It is up to you to determine what you are going to do with those years. It is up to you to determine what matters and what you will remember. Don’t ever forget to take that step back and look at the big picture, because most times, it is a whole lot better than the smaller pictures that make up our daily lives. Look on your time now as a small picture in the photomoasaic that is your life. Ask yourself, in five years, what memories, experiences, or people are going to matter to you. And always, always remember that time is a train that waits for no one. It is chugging and chugging along so hop on. Spend every second well because every second spent is one lost, and then in 78.7 years or whenever it is your time to hop off the train, take that step back and look at the big picture and hopefully say wow, I really am happy with my life, and my little speck on the grand timeline of the world. I know I will.