Four cupcakes out of five to Alex Legeros for his ponderings last week on the subject of liberal arts and the merit of CI. As a CII student, I throughly resonate with his encouraging words to take an art class, specifically drawing, at Gustavus. Last autumn, I learned how to express myself through said black and white medium, thanks to Professor Kris Lowe. I am grateful to her for a remarkable semester of self-growth.

Speaking of growing tall like an Aspen sapling, I grew up listening to my dad playing the  piano, making forts in the forest and learning about the “Big World Out There” from my dad’s “Kleenex Box Tales.” Right up there with the “Piece of Dust Tales,” my father, a pastor, gave my siblings and me a fun perspective on the world around us. Details of creation, details of our environment, all these things observed by wee little ones like us. A sense of wonder is the gift I am most grateful for, be it from my Creator, parents, upbringing, homeland, etc. I’m thrilled by the radiance of the sun, the excitement and enthusiastic parting of the autumn leaves (and all the songs sung about them!).

Coming to Gustavus, I had no idea what to major in. I confidently told my good-ol’ tour guide and countless Gusties that I liked “words and people.” I thought that was quite a philosophical and fitting response to the inevitable question, but their faces told me I had checked a box not even on the ballot … or even a box for that matter.

Since that chilly visit, I’ve explored my comfort zones and skirted and frolicked right out of those boxes. I’ve struggled in darkness; I’ve been enlivened more than I thought possible. The “place” I’ve landed in, “Wonderland,” fits the “words and people” theme I began with, but the undeclared major I have for myself finds its roots elsewhere than my transcript. You won’t necessarily find it on my resume, in my commentaries or in my diary.

It’s somewhere in the steps I’ll take today, in between the color of my nail polish and my actual nail, in the people I meet and the prayers of peace we exchange. Creative expression is sown in those corners of our lives that people don’t see. Our lives count every single moment we live them. That being said, I often wish I could refuse to have a major so that I wouldn’t be so compartmentalized. However, I respect and am growing under the guidance of an excellent and unique advisor. I am blessed to be a student at this institution, however rule-oriented it may seem at times.

Though Alex highlights a key advantage to being a CI student, CII adds a nuance of intentionality. One of the best parts of CII thus far was an upperclass woman giving us a lecture about being on time. A far cry from a simple time management lecture, dear Amara Berthelsen shared her Center for Vocational Reflection Internship by helping us first-years think through and prioritize our times and lives at Gustavus. Now in her shoes as a junior, I quote Mary Oliver: “So tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”