I ran
into one of my favorite former teachers today in my hometown middle school
parking lot. I had just dropped off my brother at lacrosse practice and was
making my way out of the carpool lane when I saw his familiar, smiling face—a
goofy grin from my eighth grade English instructor that I hadn't seen in years,
signaling me over from the clogged flock of Honda
Odysseys. Immediately, I heeded his gesture, put the car in park,
and was greeted by the warm hug of an old friend.
“Catching
up” initially began with the “usual” topics of conversation one asks a college
student: How was your year? Have you decided on a major? What are your plans
for this summer? Calling upon my regular arsenal of small-talk, I had
certain answers already prepared to address the first two questions.
However, when I considered my response to my teacher’s third proposal, the
imminence of a completely atypical and exciting reality set in: “Well,
tomorrow I am off to Denmark...”
This
past semester at St. Lawrence I studied "Human Flourishing in Contemporary
Society," or (as I simply explained it to my peers who were not enrolled
in the course), "The Philosophy of Happiness." I looked forward to
every Monday/Wednesday meeting at Piskor Hall, where our intimate group of ten
(approx.) students and Professor Erin McCarthy discussed, argued, connected
(and, of course, sometimes confused...) various philosophical
considerations of "the good life." We started and ended each
day "with a bow," to ensure that even the most difficult-to-grasp
concepts were explored in a place of unified open-mindedness and respect—so
that the environment where we contemplated "human flourishing" was
directly conducive to our own flourishing as learners.
By the
end of spring semester, our philosophy class had already grown quite close.
Tomorrow, I look forward to solidifying further friendships
with each of my three other peers, as well as Erin and her family, who will be
departing with me to Denmark. Over the next ten days of SLU's "Human
Flourishing in Contemporary Society" travel program, I am eager to apply what we have
learned about happiness this year in a classroom in Canton, to the streets of
Copenhagen—one of the "happiest" cities
in the world. It
seems like only a week ago that I was back at St. Lawrence, scrambling to
finish finals…because that is true. In fact it has only just hit me
that in 24 hours I will actually be on a red-eye flight to
Copenhagen. My bags are packed, though, my mind is ready, and I am SO
excited for the adventure that lies ahead!
-Kelsey
Smith
SLU
'15
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