By Will Malkus
Radio Editor
Well guys, it’s been quite a ride.
This is the last issue of The Elm for the year, which means it is also the last time I’ll be writing a column for it. “I Hate It Here” isn’t going to end, but that’s another story. You’ll see next year.
But in the meantime, I wanted to go out in the same way I came in: talking about hate. There are a lot of things to hate in this world, and I guarantee that at least one person hates each and every one of them. We spend more than half of our lives just hating. The younger we are, the easier it comes. We’re rarely satisfied with something that isn’t perfect, whether it be our friends, our experiences, or our own behavior. We spend a lot of time being critical, judging one another, and deciding who is worthwhile and who isn’t, like we have any better idea.
The fact of the matter is, we’re all terrible sometimes.
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe that anyone is a fundamentally bad person. I’ve never met one. But we all make mistakes. We all screw up, and the beauty lies in that moment when we can forgive. Each other, and ourselves.
I know we all think we’re at the height of our maturity. We’re in college, so we know better than everyone and we’ve already reached the peak of our development. But that isn’t true, is it?
I don’t know, maybe it is for some people. But when I think about all the damage that your average person inflicts on those around them over the course of their lifetime, it seems wasteful to sweat the small stuff. I think the best you can do is get to know a person and trust your own judgment. Don’t hold back, but be ready to forgive. I mean, why not? What’s the point of clinging to it? They’re going to change anyway, because no one stays the same forever.
Because the first column I ever wrote was also about giving thanks, I’d like to take a moment to do that, too, as a part of my farewell address. I’m thankful to have to had the opportunity to come to this school. I’m thankful to be graduating from this school. I’m thankful to all the professors I’ve had who have helped me along the way, and for imparting their knowledge and experience on to me. I’m thankful to my family for supporting me, and to my friends for the same reason.
This isn’t an advice column. I’m not going to tell you that all of our lives would be better if we just took some time out of each day to count our blessings or to give thanks to the universe. It might be. But I will say that I have just as much capacity to hate as any one reading this, and that this is absolutely hypocritical. I guess it just seems a shame to go out there into the real world with so much bitterness and guilt. It would be nice, class of 2012, if we could all just make our peace, turn around, and disappear into the sunset together.
But that probably isn’t going to happen. Instead, we’ll pine after this place, reminisce about the glory days, and wish we could have done things differently.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, I don’t hate it here, and I don’t hate you. You caught me. I’m going to miss you.