In this Issue: today we talk about one of the subtle pleasures of college: late night conversation
There are only a few more weeks left in the spring semester. One of my hopes for your Deacs is that before they go home for the summer, they have at least one truly deep conversation with friends over a late night food run.
Back in my time at Wake, we did this by going to Krispy Kreme around 11 at night, getting a dozen donuts, and then sitting there talking about Big Things. It could be about faith, or politics, or philosophy, or What Is Important In Life. Or it could be having a truly vulnerable conversation with others: disclosing things you might be holding in that you haven’t told others yet, anxiety/fear/hopes/dreams about what you will do after college, etc. (More likely than not, those moments of vulnerability are going to bring you closer to your friends….and may open the door for said friends to be open and vulnerable with their own truths.)
The fun in these conversations was in hearing from different people and learning their different perspectives, or having a newfound empathy and understanding of someone else’s experience. These late night conversations aren’t meant to prove that anyone was right or wrong, or to offer advice or a solution to someone else’s situation – they are more a chance to connect on a deeper-than-surface level. And I am a big believer in the idea that feeling connected to others, and heard, and understood, is central to our happiness.
You know this – but your Deacs probably don’t yet – but there will come a time in life where they wish they were free enough to have a midnight conversation with their besties, instead of thinking about what they need to do at the office tomorrow, or what the kids need, or the fact that the grass needs cutting or the house needs cleaning, etc. So students, use this time now and make the most of it. Do a little late night talking with classmates and friends. Go deep.
