"I have no special gift. I am only passionately curious." ---Albert Einstein
Posted on the back wall of my desk at eye level, I keep a letter from my late best friend, Conor M. Moran. He wrote a one page letter our senior year at Stuyvesant. I had only known him 2 years at that point, and his letter feels like we already had a lifetime together. In the letter, he writes:
Some mornings, I read the letter and just cry. Other days, the letter serves as a reminder of who I am, who I was to him, and how that makes me feel. I relate to Einstein's words: I have no special gift. But I have always been passionately curious about people, wanting to understand who they are. Even when I work for my dad at our retail pharmacy business, my mind lingers on the name of a customer. I wonder why they are taking a particular medication; what type of personality he or she has that has necessitated their drug use. I have wondered what their children think of them, and how they treat their parents. I wonder these things almost randomly. I cannot understand why I wonder these things, but I do. I have an endless supply of questions. I REVEL at dinner parties where I know no one. I love New York City subways where I can observe other people, where my imagination has free reign to wander and speculate. I have to fight the urge to strike up conversation with the stranger next to me. The young man with a glass vase of orchids... Or the man in the pinstripe suite with a stroller. The woman with her dog in her purse. There are women dressed in suits, but a heavy weariness in their faces. The particular instances of beauty-- I revel in these moments. I miss New York for these reasons.
I have found this beauty in New Jersey. I have gone out of my way to bring strangers together in this community. I started Remembering Forward, and will be writing more about that experience soon. But for right now, here are the basics:
I think Conor would be happy at know that this is what I do. This is who I am becoming. I like to think that he is still present in my life, that he is still my biggest fan. May God bless him as infinitely as he has blessed me through his all too brief presence in my life.
Posted on the back wall of my desk at eye level, I keep a letter from my late best friend, Conor M. Moran. He wrote a one page letter our senior year at Stuyvesant. I had only known him 2 years at that point, and his letter feels like we already had a lifetime together. In the letter, he writes:
"I can't really tell you how important you've been in my life over the past year and a half. You have said in the past that you don't think of yourself as a great friend, but I don't think you really understand. I have gotten so much out of knowing you, and I am absolutely certain that anyone else you know would say the same thing. I have never known anyone else nearly as insightful, introspective and genuinely honest as you are. I have tremendously appreciated your un-self-conscious interest in religious and moral issues; your ability to cherish the uniquely beautiful elements of your own culture while not being personally limited by them simply blows me away."
Some mornings, I read the letter and just cry. Other days, the letter serves as a reminder of who I am, who I was to him, and how that makes me feel. I relate to Einstein's words: I have no special gift. But I have always been passionately curious about people, wanting to understand who they are. Even when I work for my dad at our retail pharmacy business, my mind lingers on the name of a customer. I wonder why they are taking a particular medication; what type of personality he or she has that has necessitated their drug use. I have wondered what their children think of them, and how they treat their parents. I wonder these things almost randomly. I cannot understand why I wonder these things, but I do. I have an endless supply of questions. I REVEL at dinner parties where I know no one. I love New York City subways where I can observe other people, where my imagination has free reign to wander and speculate. I have to fight the urge to strike up conversation with the stranger next to me. The young man with a glass vase of orchids... Or the man in the pinstripe suite with a stroller. The woman with her dog in her purse. There are women dressed in suits, but a heavy weariness in their faces. The particular instances of beauty-- I revel in these moments. I miss New York for these reasons.
I have found this beauty in New Jersey. I have gone out of my way to bring strangers together in this community. I started Remembering Forward, and will be writing more about that experience soon. But for right now, here are the basics:
Remembering Forward
Intergenerational Community Arts Program in Piscataway, New Jersey
Who: Young women (age 14-21) who are interested in UNIQUE service opportunity to connect to senior women through creative arts
What: Get to know seniors through the arts -- storytelling, drawing, collage, painting
When: Friday April 23 2010 from 2:30 to 5:00
Where: Piscataway Senior Center, 700 Buena Vista Ave
(Group will walk over to the Sterling Village together, where the program will be held)
Cost: Free.
Interested in signing up?
Email rememberingforward@gmail.com TODAY to reserve a spot!
Space is limited so please apply early.
Be part of this UNIQUE opportunity to connect with senior women
"Remembering Forward" is a women's intergenerational community arts program for young women (aged 13-21) and senior women in Piscataway, New Jersey. The program aims to explore and appreciate the community of Piscataway through creative/expressive arts and to draw commonalities between women's experiences across time and culture. The goals of the program are (1) to positively influence the perceptions of youth and older people towards each other (2) to create opportunities for youth and seniors to teach and learn from each other (3) to develop relationships between participants through expressive arts activities and storytelling (4) to learn and appreciate the community.
I think Conor would be happy at know that this is what I do. This is who I am becoming. I like to think that he is still present in my life, that he is still my biggest fan. May God bless him as infinitely as he has blessed me through his all too brief presence in my life.
Comments
Post a Comment