When I started looking into where I was going to go to college in 2010, Eastern Michigan University was never on my mind. So I guess it was a blessing in disguise when EMU ended up being one of few Division One Universities I was recruited to swim at because, although I never intended to end up here, I’m so glad I have.
A couple months into my freshman year here in fall of 2011, I began to realize that swimming and I had reached the end of a long relationship. I was burnt out and ready to put my focus on new things. Even though I was sure the decision I made was the right one, it took me a while to regain my balance after leaving the pool. It felt like what I would imagine a bird with a broken wing would feel like – not being able to do what it had always done.
Sophomore year came around soon enough, and I found myself back on campus with a renewed energy for bettering myself as both a student and a person. What I found was a great community of faculty, staff and students who were all outstanding in making sure I found my place on campus.
Settling into my area of study – international affairs – I found myself learning on my own the value of diversity in which the campus of EMU thrusts you into. Being on campus at EMU gives you the greatest insights into different ethnicities, religious beliefs and other general ideals – a medley of identities that other places across the country really seem to lack. EMU’s campus environment really creates a remarkable sense of togetherness from what may be a turbulent clash of identities somewhere else.
As an international affairs major, I read the news every day and must ingest the violent clashes taking place around the world (many of which are due to small differences in identities). EMU’s community gives me hope, hope that humanity won’t forever be at odds with itself over differences as trivial as race or beliefs. Above all, the community makes me proud to call EMU my home.
No matter what your field of study, here at EMU, you will find that maybe the greatest thing you have to learn is not in the classroom but in the dynamic of how we all seem to get along so well. So for all of you incoming freshman on campus, welcome, and for all of you returning students, welcome back. Let’s continue to celebrate the diversity that only the EMU community can teach and always remember that together, we are “TruEMU.”
