Finding your voice. I like to write in rhyme. I like to walk around with my earbuds in and let the harmonization of the musicians bring my life repetition. Making games out of thin air like a magician. Oberlin feels like a place made by a magician. Fall, winter, spring. Can you feel the magic? Fall, winter, spring. Anything you want, you can have it, you just have to plan correctly. What is a plan anyways without purpose? Purpose makes the plan worth it. What is worth? Oberlin, a place worthy of giving your seconds to. A place that will make you want to hang onto every second too. What are memories? Can we remember to live in the present? How can I bring you the past in the present?
Prose makes me feel like a pro. Each word is a rose. Who knows, how long I can go, but luckily I’m at a place where I can stop. I like to walk around in the fall and watch the leaves float as they drop. How can I encapsulate a moment in time and hand it to you? How can I encapsulate the feeling of flying that the leaf must experience as it drops? How do I know this feeling? I’ve been working on it for years. Long jumping through the winter and spring, giving the world my effort and seeing what it will bring.
I write in pen not pencil and I write in present tense not past. All while presenting the moments of the past. I learned to do that as a freshman. It led to growth which led to better grades. Sitting at a wooden desk in class, hoodie on, feeling warm. The professor is encapsulating a moment in time. A moment when Dante was influenced by Augustine’s rhyme, which in one way or another influences mine.
What do you want to know? What Oberlin is? It’s a piece of play dough, it can be anything you want. It’s a cool breeze in the spring with the sun beaming through the blue skies as you walk to class. It’s dapping your friends up in King as you walk past. What is Oberlin? Can I tell you in words? It’s the park by Firelands in the summer. Basketball hitting the rim it’s probably not going in but it’s not about that. What is Oberlin? It’s the Feve pancakes, it’s Kim’s bulgogi bowl, it’s the movie theater downtown with your friends. Oberlin is your friends. Oberlin is opportunity. Opportunity to be yourself, opportunity to find yourself, Oberlin is a place where you can have a voice. Your own voice.
The guitar in my earbuds is giving my life rhythm. Through that, I hope I’m creating reason. Seasons change and so do the vibes, Oberlin is a place of warmth even when the sidewalks are covered in ice. A refreshing drink on a hot day. Oberlin is a harmony, a place you can harmonize with your own voice.
