I think there is something peculiar about passionate speaking. I think it looks like rising body temperature and the need to take up more space than normal, like red cheeks and wide eyes. People grow and spread their arms, sometimes tripping over words in a hurry to get them all out. These are the characteristics I’ve noticed whenever people speak about why they came to the University of Iowa. We’ve all come with a purpose to this school, be it the advancement of biomedical engineering, the creation of renowned films, or to change the world through interpersonal interactions.

I think there is something peculiar about saying yes when you aren’t sure. I think it feels like pushing off the edge with your toes, like a shaky breath. This week I said yes to a football game, to walking with my head up, to joining intramural volleyball, to lunch with new friends, to trying new writing techniques, to acrobatics on the Pentacrest, to people watching, to appreciating the value of a dream, and to letting my perspective be molded.

I think there is something peculiar about making an impact on someone. I think it eludes a name, a reaction, or an identifiable change. It takes place in the quiet parts of someone’s brain, sifting through their existing schema and asking, where do I fit in? Every interaction has the potential to alter the color of someone’s world, to shift it a few degrees to the left, to change the sound in the streets to something warmer or colder.

Every day I am introduced anew to the University of Iowa.