During my last finals week as an undergraduate student, I met with a professor for lunch. While the professor has one of the greatest intellects I've encountered, he also has a tremendous amount of playfulness. Thus, when another student instigated a water fight, he quickly joined in, disappearing from sight as he proceeded to chase the student around the building. I and another friend, hoping to assist the other student, waited for the professor to return and approach our seemingly innocent conversation before tossing our water bottle contents at him. During my first unsuccessful attempt at this I dropped my Hydroflask on the sidewalk. I later redeemed the honor of my water bottle by successfully soaking the professor, only after I acted involuntarily as a successful shield for the professor against another student as they emptied the contents of their water bottle. From water fights to snowballs in the Cascade mountains, from classrooms to cafes in Greece, from the living rooms of professor's homes to the late nights in the library concluded by singing the doxology, I will cherish the relationships I formed at Whitworth.
As I begin to embark on new adventures, I'm certain my poor Hydroflask will receive a few more dents. I'm eager to know what stories lie behind those upcoming dents and discover the stories that hidden in the dents in the unfortunate Hydroflasks of others.
Also, what would it look like to care about learning the stories behind the details of others' lives?
