“The more languages I read and the more books I read, my world became bigger.” - Nuruddin Farah
We sat in the blazing hot sun on this most magnificent May afternoon, the concrete walls of Berkeley’s Greek Theatre catching the sun’s rays and reflecting them back on us. The concrete pillars of the theatre towered above us. On stage, the tiny black clad figures sat silently as Somalian author, Nuruddin Farah, spoke.
He began with a story. It was, of course, the way one must begin; in the oral tradition. It was a folk tale from his native Somalia, a story about a man who stood at a crossroads. Unsure of which way to travel, he picked up the other paths, one by one, and fashioned them into a belt which he tied around himself and headed down the remaining path.
It was a fitting story on this most wonderful day in the lives of these new college graduates. Mama and Papa sat beside me. “I’m so glad you came,” Mama said, her face beaming with pride.
It was, of course, never a question.
We were there on that October day, twenty-one years ago. I remember staring at her as Mama placed her on the bed. She was wrapped in a pale yellow snuggly sack with hand painted stars and moons, the first gift we ever gave her. She was so beautiful, so innocent, and so full of promise. She was our first. Well, not ours exactly, but the first baby in our circle and so we took her as our own, even just a little bit.
We watched her walk and talk and count and sing. There were birthday parties and Christmas Eves, Super Bowl Sundays and weekends in the snow. And day-by-day, year-by-year she grew.
She has the brightest smile. A wide, toothy grin that makes her eyes twinkle and the corners dance and despite your best efforts, you cannot do anything but smile back.
It was just yesterday, or so it seemed, that we vicariously stood with her at the crossroads that led her here. It was the end of her high school years and as she and as her classmates hugged and kissed each other and promised they would never forget, she had already begun to pick up the other paths and fashion them into the belt that she would carry with her down the path she had chosen. She was off to study English at one of the most prestigious English departments in the nation.
When they were younger, Mama and Papa took her and her two brothers to live in France for a year while Papa, a former restauranteur turned culinary instructor, studied French cooking. It was the experience of a lifetime as they lived and traveled through the French countryside, learning another language and culture and the lesson that we are just a small part of this place we call home. And when it was time for junior year abroad, there was no question where she would go.
And now, here we were again, standing beside her at yet another crossroads. Time to gather the alternate paths and make another belt to carry forth on the new path she has chosen.
“Do you think that your life is yours for you to do with what you want?” Farah asked the graduates as he neared the completion of his speech. “You consider a bank to be yours, because you deposit your money in it, but it is not yours alone.”
No, she most certainly has not journeyed alone.
There have been others. Many, many others. Teachers and coaches, family and friends who have loved her and encouraged her and watched her grow… but none like Mama and Papa.
Mama and Papa have stood firm. They have been beside her as she has navigated the many divergent paths of her life. They have loved her and supported her, coached her and encouraged her, and, as they stood at the crossroads beside her, they have let her find her own way.
Yes, she is part of something much larger than herself. As she moves forward, she carries with her a piece of each of us who have walked with her. In the fall she will embark on another journey as she heads back to France to teach. She will do great things. She will leave her mark. She already has.
Congratulations Chelsea. We couldn’t be prouder of you.
