Two weeks ago, Art Prof. Carmenita Higginbotham spoke at my sorority’s general body meeting about what inspires her. I admittedly sat back, began to doze off and prepared myself to listen to what I consider to be the all-too-common tale of academic perseverance or intellectual curiosity; however, Professor Higginbotham mentioned something that I did not expect to hear. Serendipity — the aptitude of making desirable discoveries by accident, or good luck — is what inspires her each and every day.
I left the meeting both curious and intrigued. How could someone so driven and accomplished value and find inspiration from fortune or good luck? Yet, in light of recent events that have taken place this past year, Professor Higginbotham’s message has taken on much more significance in my life as of late. For some of us, serendipity means being able to attend our Friday classes safely because we chose not to go to school in Boston. For some of us, serendipity means having our elementary school experiences not be clouded by the terrors of Newtown, Connecticut. For some of us, serendipity means returning home safely from our study abroad experiences. For some of us, serendipity means being mentally, physically and monetarily able to study at the University of Virginia. And yet for all of us, serendipity means waking up each and every morning.
With exams and Final Exercises quickly approaching, the pressure to succeed is all around us. Be it an overbearing exam schedule, intensive family obligations, demanding extracurricular work or a daunting and seemingly never-ending job search, the stressors present for any and all first to fourth years alike can certainly seem unbearable at times. That being said, regardless of what you believe, there are many reasons to be thankful. Today, we have the opportunity to enjoy another spring afternoon with our friends and family. Today, we have the opportunity to study what we are passionate about. Today, we have the opportunity to walk the grounds of the University of Virginia once more. And today, we have the opportunity to experience what I truly believe to be some of the best years of our lives.
Sadly, this is not the case for everyone. The names of those whose lives have been so quickly and unexpectedly cut short, likewise, will always stand out as a recent reminder of this fact. Sean Collier, for example, the security officer who died responding to disturbances caused by the Boston Marathon bombers on MIT’s campus last Thursday night; 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, 8-year-old Martin Richard and 23-year-old Lingzi Lu, the three victims that lost their lives in the Boston Marathon explosion; the 26 students and teachers shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School this past December, and all of our fellow Wahoos who tragically passed away this year are only a few of the countless reminders that we are by no means promised another day, hour or minute to laugh, to learn and to love.
Therefore, sweet serendipity — as I‘ve now termed it — is a call to live in the moment, to enjoy 10 more minutes with friends, to streak the Lawn one more time, to give Dean Groves another high five and to truly immerse yourself in the University of Virginia experience, regardless of how much time you have left on Grounds. There is a reason that Ernest Hemingway once wrote to “live life to the fullest.” Because for all of us, we have been afforded this day, this hour, this second and this moment to do just that.
Kelly McCoy is a fourth-year trustee.
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