“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” – Confucius

“Thoughts have power; thoughts are energy. And you can make your world or break it by your own thinking.” – Susan L. Taylor

“Energy can't be created or destroyed, and energy flows. It must be in a direction, with some kind of internal, emotive, spiritual direction. It must have some effect somewhere.” – Keanu Reeves

I’ve been learning math and science for most of my life. While there are parts of it, even whole subjects, that I do not like AT ALL. There are some that I absolutely love.  Physics was one of my favorites.  In physics we learned the law of conservation of energy which states that energy in a closed system can neither be created nor destroyed, but only converted from one form to another.  So without some external energy, the total amount of energy is constant. Though it may seem confusing if you haven't studied it, it isn't.  The classic way to teach it is to hold some object up in the air, usually a ball.  At that moment, clasped in that hand, it is full of potential energy (the energy stored within the object). Once you drop it and the ball is moving, the energy shifts from potential to kinetic energy (the energy that comes from the object moving). There are formulas involving mass and gravity and velocity that we won't bother with here.  The key is in the conversion from what feels passive, to what seems active, although both are equal.  I would posit that we are subject to that same law, the conservation of human energy.  The question that I am asking you to ask yourself is how much of the boundless energy within you is still stuck as potential?  Kinetic energy requires movement.  So, are you moving?  Or are you a bit stuck like that ball being held aloft, waiting to be dropped so it can bounce?  If you do feel stuck, it’s okay.  The challenge is to figure out what has a hold of you.  What is keeping you from going in whatever direction your purpose is, from being kinetic, from moving?  Or… are you the hand holding your own energy at bay, keeping that potential from blazing forth into the world that anxiously awaits it, whether it knows it or not?  It doesn’t matter if you’ve been told that people who like you or are from where you’re from or identify the way you identify don’t have as much potential.  The energy is there, as it always has been, and you can in fact activate it. You can break free, shake it off, let it go and get going or go faster. Just make sure you’re moving in the right direction.

"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." – Alice Walker

“For too long, I've made my past my future, afraid to imagine anything else. And I acted like that - static - afraid of my own kinetic energy. Maybe it's time to start imagining, maybe it's time to be in motion. Maybe it's time for me to fight back against the sadness inside of me.” — Jasmine Warga

"If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow." - Beyoncé

Sometimes I worry for you all.  I speak to students often and hear more and more the woe of uncertainty and fear of not knowing, of failing, of trying.  Sometimes it seems like the material, digital, and virtual worlds are all conspiring to make you feel like less; to drain all that potential imbued into the very fabric of your being until you don’t feel like you have enough left in the tank to get through your day.  A whistle just got blown signaling that some companies value their prosperity over your perception.  While that is not surprising, it is alarming.  Not that Facebook and corporations like it pursue profit, but that we see the mirage and mistake it for an oasis.  There is no nourishment there, so use it for entertainment and find your sustenance elsewhere. Find it in your friends, your family, and your faith.  Find it in learning about what piques your curiosity, in getting better at what you do, in doing what you love.  If you don’t know what you love to do, keep doing your best at what you’re doing while you search for it.  It’s out there. I promise.  Your energy wants to be kinetic, just as much as it likes being potential. Unleash it.

“I like to think of ideas as potential energy. They're really wonderful, but nothing will happen until we risk putting them into action.” – Dr. Mae C. Jemison 

“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us." — Wilma Rudolph

What are we asking you to do? 

1.     Get better. Who you are now may have been good enough for where you were.  It may even be good enough for where you are now, but maybe not for where you want to go.  So, get better, constantly, consistently, intentionally.

2.     Get going.  The pandemic and how we’ve all had to live for the last what feels like forever has taken its toll.  We all will emerge from this changed, let’s work to make that changed for the better, even if that change doesn’t start until tomorrow. 

3.     Get moving.  I just got a fancy smart watch for my birthday.  Every hour or so it starts buzzing telling me to get moving.  It doesn’t ask me to do much, it may be just stretching, but it is moving.  It’s counterintuitive but a great way to alleviate feeling so tired is to exercise regularly and eat healthily. Healthy body => healthy mind.

4.     Take care of YOU.  The world has reopened, but that doesn’t mean it feels or is safe.  As you move, take care of your whole self in real and tangible ways.  If you need help, get help.  If you need help finding the help, just say something, we are here for you.

5.     Take care of Business.  You are here to get your degree.  Life requires balance for sure but keep the main thing the main thing.  You have persevered through pandemic, campus closure, zoom, all of it.  Keep that same energy and get this done.  The world needs to see the brilliance you have to offer.

Now go be great!