Perception really can change anything-even a university. Having the ability to choose right from wrong, good from bad, we go through life deciding what we will do, where we will go, and how we will feel and act as a consequence. It was this agency that brought us to the University of Denver.
This campus has been beautifully covered in snow this past week, providing a winter wonderland of frosty trees and frozen students. It has also temporarily silenced the construction noise that fills the air, skyline and conversation on campus. Depending on our perception, the frequent clattering of excavating equipment, or an extra two minute detour on your walk to JMac is either an extreme inconvenience, or an immense free investment in the quality of our experience and an increase in the value of our degree.
Our perception sets the atmosphere for how we act, talk and represent the university. It has the power to change a bad thing to good, and a good thing to bad. As with all we do in life, our choice of perception will define how we interpret and remember the experience of everything we do. I was reminded of this last week by my sister and an engaged reader of the Clarion. Both pointed out that when all you talk about is the negative part of an event, place or person, all you or anyone else then knows will be negative.
DU has so many great things, yet I think we lose them to our choice of perception. We see the closed sidewalk, lack of campus life, extreme number of Jeep Cherokees, lack of parking or the crowded Ritchie Center and forget the various reasons each of us chose to be here.
As the sole holder of our choice, may we all take hold of what is good and build on it working through present inconveniences for better ends?
Can we appreciate the many incredible people who came to further their education, despite those who still aren’t sure what “academic component” really means? May we take the strong points that make DU great and perpetuate their effects, instead of focusing on what is wrong and getting nowhere?
DU will continue to be a great school with great staff and faculty, strong leadership, a beautiful campus and unique opportunities. The emphasis and consequential growth of these positive factors rely on the students who represent and lead the university.
There will always be negative things in life, especially at a university, but they only stay negative if we let them.
