Planning and Follow-through

“You can trust us to stick with you through thick and thin–to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours–closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends” 

Merry telling Frodo he’s going with him to Bree

I realize that a big part of this assignment was planning and following through, but this event was very much the textbook definition of a happy accident—I did not intend for it to happen, but it embodied Tolkien for me in a big way.

To fulfill this critical response, I was already planning on doing something nice for my friend; we’ll call her Sam, so imagine my surprise when out of the blue she texted me asking for help/advice. I barely knew her at this time, just a few brief conversations from church and that’s all. But she needed help and she had my number, so she ended up calling a man she hardly knew.

A deep conversation followed, Sam, tearful and crying –as we shared similar stories. She was from out of state, just like me, away from all family and friends, trying hard not to feel alone. I don’t why I did this, but I immediately brushed a tear out of her eye with my thumb and told her everything would be okay. We hugged, and even though I had known her for a brief time, I told her that I’d always be there for her. For some reason, I felt as though I had known her for, perhaps because I understood her. She said the same.

It was all too reminiscent of that one line; you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends. College is a rather dreadful place in some ways–we put so much emphasis on career advancement and serving ourselves that we forget that the real reason we’re here is to help each other, to be a shoulder to cry on and share the joys and disappointments.

What grades we get on the final exam or even if we end up getting degrees is not really that important in the big scheme of things. What is vastly more important is that we serve one another, as best we can, in whatever position in life we’re given. I don’t think I’ll reflect too much on the grades I got, or how much money I made from summer jobs… But I’ll always remember Sam, and that tear running down her cheek. And that at that moment, I was helping someone in need. My worries and troubles seemed to fade as I reached out to her in her hour of distress.

“The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived”
-Soren Kierkegaard

Class at the U of Utah, Tolkien with Professor Alf Seegert