Center of the Circle - 05/06/10

If you are unfamiliar with McSweeney’s “Open letters to people or entities who are unlikely to respond,” please visit http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/openletters/.

Afterwards, you cannot help but feel compelled to write at least one. So, in my final stint as the 2009-2010 senior columnist, here are two of my open letters:

Dear residents of the neighborhood behind FIC,

You may or may not know me, but I have been running by your houses three to six times a week for the last four years.

Your three-quarter-mile loop of a neighborhood has served as my warm-up for my runs, as well as my warm-up for whatever challenge, physical or mental, that lies ahead of me each day.

I ran through your neighborhood after the first day of my FYSE; as I brainstormed for papers; when I reached a roadblock on my thesis; to quell my nerves before an interview; on a date; after being dumped; when I was nervous about going abroad; and when I was having trouble coping with being back from abroad.

Running through your neighborhood, I have formed new friendships, developed new ideas and decided to pursue new things. I have also mourned love lost, berated myself for poor decisions made and decided what needs to be left behind.

Your friendly waves and the sound of your children laughing have encouraged me to keep running and to keep working through whatever is on my mind. Thank you.

Dear students of Middlebury College,

I have been wracking my brain as to what advice I can leave you that may actually significantly influence the remainder of your college career.

Sure, it certainly enhances your day-to-day life to smile at people on the sidewalk, to decide to overcome “awkwardness” and to rule out the possibility of dating a Quidditch player. But what can I tell you that will truly enhance your time at Middlebury?

True to form, this idea came to me while completing my favorite warm-up run, and I hope that you carry it with you through all of the physical and metaphorical running that the typical Midd-kid does. In the same way that I have used my time running to reflect on what I have learned, what I will write, decisions I have made and decisions I will make at Middlebury and in life outside “the bubble,” it is important, imperative even, to take the time to really meditate on your life here.

I frequently hear students, myself included, complain that we are too busy to think about the implications of our actions or that we have too much reading to really delve deeply into anything.

This lack of reflection can impede academic and life learning and can leave even the most level-headed student feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. I maintain that the only reason I have learned what I have learned at Middlebury is because I have taken the time to go on a long run or to sit alone in a quiet spot and to just think about my day — what I read, the people I saw and the decisions I made.

Friends and classmates, I encourage you to do the same. Let’s strive to be mindful, even while in movement. Well … at least until senior week. Thanks for reading.

Love,

H.Kay — Not to be confused with (h,k), the geometric center of the circle.