Sunday, December 1, 2013

Oxford Magic

There's an immediate magic one can feel about Oxford. It's in the old stone walls, the meadows, and the church bells. Though this magic can be difficult to pinpoint, there's one place that it exists in an absolute, and definitive way; It's in our class of 2013 Canadian Scholars.
It's incredible to me that eleven people can find such common ground. Though we all come from different backgrounds, we are able to merge together in a seamless way. Throughout the week we go about our ways: from reading about lasers physics, to discussing population health, and starting-up feminist reading groups. We give quick waves to one another during morning outings on the Isis, and chance encounters from across the traffic of High Street. We fire one another messages through computers, mobile phones, and 'pidge'. We go about our wildly diverse routines, and then we find ourselves back together again. 
It's difficult to get eleven people together at once. Truthfully, it doesn't happen very often. We meet up throughout the week, in ephemeral, and dynamic groups. We convene in coffee shops, in impossibly tiny pubs, the corners of busy intersections, and outside college gates. Someone will bring a friend from college, from a sports team, or their lab. Another Canadian Scholar will drop by fleetingly on their way to a panel discussion. The group is never quite the same, and that is truly a beautiful thing.
The Rhodes community encourages us to expand and explore entirely new fields. It dares us to debate, discuss, and to challenge one another to think differently. We are here to acquire specific knowledge and skills that will give us the tools to 'fight the worlds fight' within our own fields. Arguably, diversifying our knowledge, and expanding our horizons is equally as important as the fantastic education we are getting from our respective academic departments. I feel we are all taking this to heart as we taste different and wonderful things across disciplines.

Though I am endlessly thankful for the entire Rhodes community, there is something special about our group of Canadians. Taking the time to discuss the latest Ottawa news, respective difficulties with our academic programs, and laughing together about stories from home is enormously therapeutic.
We've become like a family over the past nine weeks. A friend approached me last week, and asked how our group became close so quickly. I thought about it for a moment, but the only answer I could muster was: 'Everyone is thoughtful, intelligent, and incredibly kind. We are open and honest with one another. It is a group of truly good people, and I don't think there's anything more to it'.  
I can see the same level of connection in place with the upper year Canadian scholars. I could see the same understanding between alumnus at the Sailing Dinner. The same magic that hangs over Oxford is magnified within the Rhodes community. Once you've experienced the magic, it seems to stay with you forever.
It's comforting to know that there is a community of alumni waiting for us after this grand adventure comes to an end. While we've all experienced Oxford, it will be fascinating to share our diverse, and unique impressions of such a phenomenal time and place. It will allow the Oxford and Rhodes experience to live-on, and proliferate in our day-to-day lives. Now if that isn't magical, I don't know what is. 
**This piece was submitted for the Canadian Association of Rhodes Scholars Newsletter