January is spinning on its heels and out the door, so we no longer have to delude ourselves about sticking to goals such as weight loss or looking at every page of the assigned reading. No, it is a time to be realistic. Instead of sitting around contemplating what is possible, it is time to figure out what is definite in life — most specifically, what you have and what you don’t.
For a moment, dwell on what you do not have. You do not have a heated glass tunnel leading from your frigid parking spot to the building on these torrentially blustery mornings.
You do not have control over whether you are punctual for class, because one clock will tell you there’s still five minutes and the next will tell you you’re ten behind.
You do not have all the answers to every quiz and test question, which explains why some students turn to cheating (see pages 6 and 7)
You do not yet have a permanent president here at the college (see pages 1 and 5).
But there seems to be hope in the future as five semi-finalists have been chosen by the Board of Trustees in the daunting search. But let’s not not feel terrible about all the have-nots.
Instead, let’s concentrate on the more positive attributes in your life — specifically, the haves.
You do have some well-traveled pathways across the lawn, which cut down the walk outside if you’re parked in the back rows of the gravel lot.
You do have quite a bit of work ahead of you this semester and thus the chance for further academic success. You do have the Spark, a brand new all-ages venue which you can learn more about on page 10.
You do have a community college that aims to foster better students with its developmental classes, which you can see on page 8, and a Peer Tutoring/Writing Center that aims to ward off cheating by helping students with academic woes.
And you also have a dedicated interim president, David J. Louis, overseeing the college in these times of presidential need.
It’s good to have assessed these points, but always keep in mind that the world is not a dichotomy of haves and have-nots. It’s a world where individual talents and contributions make everyone both distinctive and important.
Flaunt the haves and cast the have-nots out of your mind to make room for more important matters.
In the rhythmic and wise words of Bono, “What you don’t have, you don’t need it now.”