by Joshua Peters - 2010 Alumni
Hippocrates once stated (and I’m paraphrasing here) that healing can be communicably spread through touch. He went on to compare that ability of healing touch to communicable diseases, but I don’t hold that against him…he was just using what information he had. The point is, there is healing in mere human contact, and if the world 2500 years ago understood that then I didn’t need much more encouragement to pursue an education thusly focused.
As a 24 year old, not having been in anything resembling a school for six and a half years, the prospect of returning to one (to pursue an education of all things) was a little daunting. I wasn’t sure if I could handle this new environment, a) because it had been so long since I tried learning anything new, and b) what if all the cool kids teased me? Are there still cool kids in school? Only one way to find out, I told myself.
What I found was pleasantly surprising. After the first 10 minutes of an intense swallowing regimen I practice when I’m nervous, the edge wore off and I recognized that these people, the students, the teachers, the administration, are just as scared of me as I am of them! Kidding. But what I did find was that everyone was putting forth their best efforts to make the people around them feel comforted and welcomed. I cannot think of a better atmosphere where one can put down his worries, place his faith in the people around him, and simply focus on the task ahead of him: higher education. And a host of friends numbering in the hundreds doesn’t hurt at all either (although it may be more like dozens…or, if you’re like me, two or three people who can tolerate you longer than 5 minutes). Still, the spirit of the school and the people it encompasses warm my heart, and I can scarcely think of a better way to learn than surrounded by people whom you care about…and who return the favour.
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