By Grace Deitrick
“How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand – there is no going back?” – Frodo Baggins, The Return of the King
When I returned to campus this fall, I began to wonder how to pick up old threads at Houghton. I had the adventure of a lifetime as the Program Assistant for London Honors in the spring and as an intern in Vienna during the summer. While I was gallivanting in Europe, though, the Houghton community changed profoundly. It is not the place it was when I left.
Yes, I’m addressing the elephant in the dorms. And in the classrooms. And in the Center for Sustainability (though I don’t think an elephant would fit in there).
Let me be clear: I’m not here to talk about news cycles or The New York Times interviews. Any mass media class at Houghton will tell you that the average bystander forgot about those stories 24 hours later. You and I, though, can’t forget so easily. We’re in spaces that remind us of the way things were before our Houghton bubble burst, spilling all over the world in ways that make us hesitate before naming our university or employer in a conversation.
As we walk by empty offices and renovated spaces, Frodo’s realization becomes clear to us: there is no going back. There is a promise, though, in the sorrow of leaving behind the way things were. The God of steadfast love says, “See, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). One day, all things will be made new and right. Justice and love will harmonize perfectly as we live together in peace.
While that vision is far from us, though, renewal can happen in small ways here and now. The policies of Houghton may be established (whether you resonate with them or not), but the culture is enacted by us. My prayer for all of us this year is that we would be made new–not ignoring the past, but willing to cultivate the kind of Houghton we want to see. The Residence Life staff in Gillette, Lambein, Roth, and the Townhouses have demonstrated this mindset of renewal to me this semester. Despite the toll that last spring took on them, they’re still cultivating spaces where we can live and grow well. They’re keeping some old traditions and honoring those who established them while modeling joy in the new things happening. I’m immensely proud of the ways they all care for the Houghton community.
All of us can follow their example. Resist the narrative that you must remain bitter. Allow yourself to be surprised by an unexpected friendship. Compassionately discuss something difficult with a classmate. Listen well. These may seem like small acts, but the sum of them together can not only renew the Houghton community but offer healing to a world that desperately needs it.
We may not be able to pick up the threads of the way things were, but we can weave new ones into the Houghton story. ★