Two events I have attended recently have left me with a interesting persepective on my current station in life. One was last month's graduation at New Trier and the other happened yesterday, July 5th. I was my grandmother's date to her 57th high school reunion. Why they choose to celebrate the 57th year I was unable to discover - but its beside the point. High school graduation is about the future. The speeches given at the graduation reflected on the past, but focused mostly on the future of the new graduates, and correspondingly, our country.
At my grandmother's reunion, where I was one of the youngest people, at the ripe age of 31, most of the talk was of the past. How different things were during the late 40's and early 50's, how much things had changed, etc.
As I was standing in line at my grandmother's reunion - it struck me how a line connects these two celebrations. Graduation was marked by a line of people standing, waiting to get their diploma, waiting to move on to their future. The line moved fast, crackling with excitement, potential energy. On the other hand, the line of the reunion moved slowly, haltingly, almost as if it were trying to go backwards, and giving ground, grudingly, to the inexorable march of time. I know that I am part of this line - somewhere between my students and my grandmother. And I realized that this line was moving too - whether I liked it or not - and before it gets to the end, I've got some things I want to do.
At my grandmother's reunion, where I was one of the youngest people, at the ripe age of 31, most of the talk was of the past. How different things were during the late 40's and early 50's, how much things had changed, etc.
As I was standing in line at my grandmother's reunion - it struck me how a line connects these two celebrations. Graduation was marked by a line of people standing, waiting to get their diploma, waiting to move on to their future. The line moved fast, crackling with excitement, potential energy. On the other hand, the line of the reunion moved slowly, haltingly, almost as if it were trying to go backwards, and giving ground, grudingly, to the inexorable march of time. I know that I am part of this line - somewhere between my students and my grandmother. And I realized that this line was moving too - whether I liked it or not - and before it gets to the end, I've got some things I want to do.
3 comments:
Deep stuff here, Adam, about connecting the past with the present and the future. Kind of like a filament across time. I surmise you will discover connections across place when you experience China. Exciting!
"almost as if it were trying to go backwards"
I really like this imagery.
-Lucas
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