Two nights ago I lay on my floor for five minutes in the dark admiring the glow–in–the–dark stars on the ceiling.
All my friends were out. All I had to do for five minutes was breathe. I was isolated. But unlike being isolated in a Van Pelt carrel or by noise–canceling headphones, I was isolated from myself.
I admit, I’m lost. I lost my cause: me.
We all need a cause, something bigger than we are. Something that reminds me that there’s something other than action verbs in my resume. But what I’ve learned is passion doesn’t mean success. As my favorite professor always says, “It’s the art of the try.” And that’s what campus activists do everyday (p. 10).
Well, we’re all trying. And whatever we’re trying to do––avoid people on Locust, not do the reading, navigate PennLink––we’re trying to rally people to our stories. That’s why we made the Word on the Street section, because our campus voices get lost in the distractions, the ticking clock of the everyday. As a Penn student, Street gives you a place for your story.
I find myself and lose myself at Street everyday. I hope you can find yourself here, too.
All my love,
