Shawn Rodine | Staff Writer

If you would’ve told me a year ago that I would miss Buena Vista University (BVU) when it came time to graduate, I probably would’ve laughed at you. I definitely was not going to miss going to school here or many people. This is mostly because, for a large part of my time at BVU, I haven’t really felt like a part of the school. More specifically, I haven’t always felt truly connected to the people here. I’ve spent much of time alone, shied away from social and school activities, and I wasn’t ever as involved as I could’ve or should’ve been.

Those of you who know me know that I’m a bit eccentric and kind of flat out weird. I admit to being both. I’ve found that very few people here share many of my personal interests or care about some of the same things I do. This has always been frustrating for me and one of the main sources of my discontent while being here.

However, in the past few months, I’ve found that I really will miss BVU and several of the people here. What, you may ask, has changed? I have discovered that I don’t need to find people who share all or really any of my interests in order to connect with them and enjoy their company. I’ve found out that there’s a more fundamental, basic connection that unites us as human beings.

It’s the kind of connection that allows us to share jokes and stories with complete strangers, makes videos go viral on YouTube, that enables us to understand each other without even saying words and helps us to feel both each other’s deep pain and immense joy. It’s always there; we just may not always be aware of it. This connection has helped me see that it’s not about whether someone also enjoys talking about the endangerment of losing civil liberties, alternative energy, animal rights, or U.S. foreign policy. It’s about relating to someone on a very real, common, ever-present, human level. It’s what community is all about.

This doesn’t mean that, all of a sudden, cold, distant, complete strangers all became my closest of friends. That’s far from true. It does, however, mean that I was able to share time, food, laughter, and, most importantly, part of myself, with people I would’ve never expected. It can be so easy to focus on the differences we have. I should know because I did just that for a really long time.Yet, we share more than we realize and we should be really thankful for that.

I really wish I would’ve figured this out sooner, as it would’ve made my time here much more enjoyable. However, I’m certainly glad I didn’t leave without finding it out at all, because I think I’ve made more friends, acquaintances, and good memories in this short period of time than I would have had I not.

So if I as a not-as-wise-as-I-think-I-am senior could share what tiny tidbit of knowledge upon which I’ve just so happened to stumble upon these past four years (which, as incredibly cliché as it sounds, really seemed like a blink of an eye), it would be to find that basic, human connection with the community and the people around you, ESPECIALLY those who are “not like you” or don’t share your interests. I can assure you that you’ll be happier for it.

Photo by David Ekstrom