To the Editor:
Oberlin, you are the place of my birth. You have breathed life not only into my physical being (Allen Memorial Hospital, 2/15/74), but into my mind and into my soul.
My spiritualism and respect for silence came to life in your Quaker meetings where I became a witness to the Light and could actually hear the word of God for the first time. My strongest friendships, life-long connections, were born in your dorms, your dining halls and on your green lawns. Your Bike Derbies, your Drag Balls, your Safer Sex Nights and your other crazy parties spawned in me the desire and the will to reject conformity and to embrace counter-culture. My awareness of and passion for the musical cultures of the other 5.5 billion people of the world came into being at your unique radio station and Conservatory of Music. My love of the cinema would not exist without the screens of your auditoriums where night after night I caught the first glimpse of innumerable perspectives ranging from Hal Hartley to Satyajit Ray. My thirst for knowledge, my critical thinking and my passion for ideas was fertilized in the womb of your classrooms and laboratories. Your Student Union nurtured my activism and my belief that strong-willed, like-minded people can truly effect change and make a difference. My hope for a saner future sprouted in the fertile ground of your lecture halls and your libraries - those treasure chests of wisdom and inspiration. My ability to communicate, to listen and to embrace the concerns of others came into bloom over chats in your coffeeshops, on late night strolls along your sidewalks and on cool evenings as I lingered at your doorways.
Oberlin, you are my native land, my indigenous home. In spirit, if not in body, I will always return to your comfort, your learning, your challenge. I can no sooner cut you out of my life than I can thrive without my own heart and my own brain for they have become one with you. I can no sooner say good-bye to you than I can depart from my own mother. How can I miss you if I will take you with me always and everywhere?
Oberlin, you have taught me not that "One person can change the world" but that participating in an intelligent, spirited, vibrant, diverse community of genuine individuals can have an unmatched impact both inwardly and outwardly. "Think one community can change your whole world? ...So do WE!"
Peace.
Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 124, Number 24; May 10, 1996
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