Remarks for Sigma Kappa Delta, Psi Alpha Chapter's Mid-Year Pinning Ceremony

Hi all –

Last week was tiring, but punctuated with uplift. I'm grateful I played Dungeons and Dragons, helped a colleague, stayed in touch with my family and friends, learned some Spanish (poco a poco – llevo estudiando dieciocho días. Todavía necesito memorizar verbos), read over submissions for the forthcoming issue of OC Oraciones, presented on student programming, taught classes on SCOTUS and voting, got some grading done, and ate pho.

Still, it was a long week. This isn't to say "I'm so stressed you need to hear how stressed I am omg do you know how much STRESS I have." It is to say that I need to take a moment to gather myself. You don't just do things and life magically works out. It is so important to attend to what you do, taking the time to understand what's involved. For me, much of growing older entails realizing how much I wasted my youth. There were all these good things clustered together at meaningful moments, and I wanted to skip past them to get to something I thought I wanted.

I'm thinking a lot right now about how you have to pay attention to accomplish things. How you have to pay attention to rest. It seems like the world doesn't know this at all. Our leadership thinks fast and furious decapitation strikes can be done and therefore should be done. It is all motion and sound, signifying nothing. The vague feeling that the bad people are being punished is indulged, no matter the cost. But it isn't just leadership that's failing. There are elders who know the assignment–there was the woman who used her walker to go where police were beating protestors–and then there are those who think putting their name on a building is a legacy. Our moral institutions don't preach attentiveness. They push, they grab, they demand. They mimic the greed of the monopolists when they don't steal the rhetoric of books about success in business.

The inability to attend to rest is an inability to grapple with meaning and death. I know I cannot keep up the pace I work at. I know I will have a disability, that the problems of living will multiply and explode. This knowledge is almost worthless--I will still be frustrated, trying to do too much, not quite realizing I have to change. Almost worthless. The hope is that with a seed planted, with a sense that I have to embrace a fuller concept of being, I can make the changes which make life easier for me and others. I will have to relearn how to attend to things, but maybe I won't have to rage at that idea as destructively. It is quite something to see people believe their legacy is the conquest of Greenland or various oil fields. It is quite something to see people age and have no clue what maturity is.

I should add that I started this blog entry with what I am thankful for before I stumbled across Shawn Powell's lovely article, "Morning Routines and Other Strategies for Finding Peace in Prison." Now, I'm reading that closely because the prisoners they interview speak of the power self-discipline, an inner structure, brings to their lives in some of the toughest circumstances:

Imagine living in a half-bathroom. The toilet sits 2 feet away from the bunk bed you share with another man. Now add the din of up to 100 people talking and the constant bellowing of a corrections officer’s announcements over a PA system. And remember if you have an issue with someone — or something — you can’t escape it. There is no going for a drive or to the park to cool off.

Powell talks about grounding themselves through breathing exercises and meditation. I can safely say those things worked wonders in my life and I ought to get back to doing them more. I hope you'll take a look at their writing; I certainly am learning from them.

Remarks for Sigma Kappa Delta, Psi Alpha Chapter's Mid-Year Pinning Ceremony

A few quick words are in order to formally welcome you into the national organization, reiterate what it is we do, and thank you for everything you're doing for Odessa College.

We are a unique chapter, consistently punching above our weight. "Small but mighty" is a phrase I've used to describe us to other advisors, and that's been consistent the years I've been here. Whether its been volunteering, running a hospital reading room book drive, stocking the food pantry, two years of publishing a literary journal, hosting writing workshops and events to gather–this is a remarkable track record any organization should be proud of. Some people, including people who are productive in their own way, are going to snark at it. I highly recommend focusing on what we do right and closing your ears to indiscriminate criticism. We have work to do and a legacy to uphold.

As a member of SKD, you can use the national organization website to look for scholarships, contests, or opportunities to publish. I'll be honest, I don't look at the website too much nowadays because the needs of our campus and community are so pressing. It is absolutely vital to get something positive going and maintain it. Thus, I'm more focused on what we have accomplished, making sure it isn't forgotten.

That's the real key to SKD, I think. Whatever you do, how do you make sure it is a blessing to others and yourself? How do you make sure you don't forget what you did? We don't want to oversell what we achieve, but completely ignoring what we've done won't help us survive. We'll depend too much on what others think, and the end result of a world grasping for popularity is all around us. I know I don't need to talk about the streamer hitting himself in the face with a hammer and finding himself vastly more influential than anyone doing that should be.

So yeah. You're here to write, but to write your own story. We're here to celebrate it. Welcome.