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This place has made me push through the inner grimace to find the truth.
Though this may sound like a fancy way of saying “man up,” there’s a difference.
When someone mans up, it’s usually something they don’t want to do because it has little relation to anything they actually want to do.
Thus, the person will likely go about performing the act with eyes and ears closed off to the wisdom gained when processes are approached with maturity, all in an attempt to get it over with as soon as possible.
The Advocate has helped open my senses to this invaluable wisdom.
Sometimes through force akin to Alex in “A Clockwork Orange,” eyelids and earlobes stretched apart with metal prongs, leaving the coddled havens within no option but to recognize my strangeways.
Other times by instilling within me the desire to do something the right way before the guilt finger of a parental figure even has a chance to wag.
Rather than “man up,” being on the paper for four years has forced me to “grow up,” with an impossible-to-undervalue emphasis on the growth aspect.
I could be receiving my bachelor’s degree this month. Instead, I am just now transferring to a four-year college.
But I regret nothing.
Though I am sure I could have managed, if I had enrolled in a university right out of high school, I would have missed so much.
Staying as late as 5 a.m. on a Monday night/Tuesday morning with Justin, Brett and Jack, only to come back in a few hours later and proofread through eyes and minds caked with caffeine, sugar and sleep deprivation.
Working with Shahruz and Isaac on a goofy Soundslides story we came to despise while everyone else played charades in a neighboring hotel room at a Sacramento journalism convention.
Feeling the entire staff radiate with warmth as the man at the podium in Washington D.C. told us we were one of the top five community college papers in the nation.
Contributing to the collective heckling of our adviser and father chipmunk Paul.
Colluding with Sam and Brent to make others feel uncomfortable by perfecting a brinksmanship game of sexual references.
Surely, no four-year college staff that rarely meets as a group could yield such an atmosphere.
Being surrounded by these people in a setting where we must constantly rely on each other as both co-workers and friends has helped me realize the greatest lesson of my young life — everything you do with the right approach carries immeasurable worth.
If I cover a seemingly dull on-campus event, for example, it does not have to be just because I was assigned it, or it needs to be covered or we need to fill space.
I can use the opportunity to: understand why that event is held; comprehend why it should continue to be held; realize how people feel about it; grasp why the sharing of that event’s story with others is important; and recognize the value of all these actions for everybody’s present and future.
Every process has at least one right way it should be done. And many have many more.
The key indicator of whether or not something is right for me can usually be found in how I feel about it after I’ve given an honest try.
Thus, my growth as a being of energy can include staying four years at a community college if the relationships and experiences at such a place align with the kind of person I want to be.
And with friends like Asia, Brent, Shahruz, Sam, Justin, Brett, Jack, Travis, Dan, Francisco, Jon, Jeff, Regina, Lauren, Holly, Alex, Malcolm, Dariush, Ryan D., Ryan J., Wryan J., Zilose, Cassandra, Cyndy, Adam, Isaac, James, Cody, George, Lamar, Diana, Erik, Roman and Paul, it’s obvious that everything I’ve done here is what I wanted to do all along.
Alec Surmani is an associate editor of The Advocate. Contact him at asurmani.advocate@gmail.com
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