Dear My Darling Public
Have you ever wondered how it is that you run into all your friends in one day? I absolutely love seeing them whenever I do to whatever capacity, but I really live for those days that are filled with every familiar face on campus. With every destination and every transitional treading, a new and friendly soul presents itself in warm welcome. Well, that day was today and, for a moment, I was reminded of my home town of Evergreen Park, Illinois. This neighborhood, not a mile long by a mile deep, contained within its bordering streets some of the most recognizable figures by silhouette alone. Indeed this was a place where nearly every person you saw existed somewhere in your memory, in some long lost thought in the back of your head and, just like that, their name was just at the tip of your tongue. Your first guess was usually right, but if it wasn't, you need not worry. Not enough time would be cast to the wind before the both of you would become lost in conversation.
The Village of Churches certainly has a culture of its own, embodied by the mystique of its poets, the rustic habits and old world welcome of its elderly, the morality and kind hearts of its church goers, the personal relationships and generosity of its local businesses, and the reliability and prudence of its politicians. From every bite of a Rosangela's pizza to every moment spent in prayer at Most Holy Redeemer Church, nothing quite compares to the beauty of a place to call home. I live in Erie, Pennsylvania at present, but no amount of words of combination of actions could put into amplification the feelings that enter my soul each and every time I return to my home.
When you grow up in the Chicago land area, it occurs to you very quickly that you, aspiring young (insert aspiration here), are a small human in an even smaller world. Hell, the city itself, in all of its visually overwhelming majesty, can seem, at that young, sponge like age, like it is the whole world. I have even been quoted as saying that "I'm back in America!" every time my family and I came back to Chicago from Indiana or Wisconsin. I know, I know, I literally thought I was going in between two different countries, but that's what it felt like. You learn, at a very young age, that it takes a community to raise a child, and, for the most part, you are raised by your friends, your comrades. The streets become the endless playground of discovery that provides you with adventure complete with danger at every turn and all kinds of friends from all walks of life to be made along the way. It was an urbanized, legend-of-zelda like game where you aren't just an individual, but an important part of the community.
It's not quite Chicago over here at Edinboro University, but the principles that I have embraced as dogma back home work in quite the same way out here in the country. For what it's worth, they make life here even more fulfilling and they allow for the kind of friendly, public trust that allows me to be extroverted and have the long list of familiar names and faces that I run into every single day.
I know I didn't go off on any political rant today, but in light of the State of the Union address and how much politics is already being shoved down the nation's throat, I just thought I would be a wee bit anecdotal, and play to the emotions of all of you because I know that feeling emotions of any kind is what makes us human. That and research just sounded a bit boring for today. Have a wonderful day, and God bless.
With Love
Thomas F.
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