As I reflect upon the trials and tribulations of my freshman year, at times I feel a little worse for the wear. When the demands of my everyday student life seem overwhelming, the roller coaster ride of highs and lows are on a seemingly downward trajectory, and my woes have taken on a role of epic proportions, I do what I always do: call home.
I call home in search of comfort, the comfort that most often only parents can provide. It was on one such occasion when I recounted the various travesties of my day, seeking from the comforting voice on the other end of the phone some great wisdom to help me cope with my difficulties at hand. Instead, I was given the analogy comparing me to the tempering of a Samurai sword. Not familiar with the tempering process or the making of Samurai swords, I could not immediately understand the correlation. Upon hanging up the phone, I proceeded to investigate the meaning.
What I learned was that steel can be treated by intense heat by means of fire and heat reflecting bricks to give it different properties of hardness and softness. Depending on the techniques used, the steel can either become very hard or very brittle, causing it to snap or break under pressure. If cooled slowly, the steel will be easier to cut, shape, and file, as it will be relatively soft. What I also learned was that the industrial heat treatment process is a complex and precise science.
What is not an exact science, however, is what it takes for us all to emerge as individuals who are strong as steel, not too brittle that we snap, but malleable enough to be molded into the perfect sword with the all of the properties we associate with such an instrument; bright, sharp, strong, a defender or aggressor of men depending on what the situation warrants. The process to create an instrument of such exception not only requires exposure to intense heat but once the steel is softened it must then be pounded repeatedly and allowed to cool before the process is repeated again and again and again. Is the sword of our character being forged at college?
As I pondered this process, I began feeling more and more like that lump of steel, not yet formed into the perfect sword. I realized that I came here with a certain confidence associated with that of a high achiever, fired up by the myriad of opportunities available at GW, only to be humbled or “softened” by the reality that I am surrounded by so many brilliant classmates or “reflecting bricks.” That reality was then followed by intense pounding of endless work, and the typical trials and tribulations one must navigate through the complex social landscape of our teenage years, and then just when you think that you can’t take the heat any longer, things cool down only for the cycle to be endlessly repeated.
Therefore, perhaps when you feel despair, overcome with feelings of inadequacy because you are convinced that it was your fault that your team lost, or your grades fall short of your expectations, or a friend disappoints you beyond repair, just remember the art of master sword making– it takes knowledge, effort, talent, consistency, and time. In following such a parallel, I guess it is no different for so many of us who came to GW as little lumps of steel with all of the potential of becoming the perfect Samurai sword with the aspirations to emerge with qualities that one may equate with such an instrument: a sharp and hard cutting edge, but with a soft inner core so not to break. In essence, I guess we are all here to become hard without becoming hardened; soft on the inside, but sharp on the cutting edge.
Yet, despite all of this effort, it beckons me to wonder whether some of us will end up as merely ceremonial swords whose claim to fame is that we were formed by such masterful artisans. Through their dedication and hard work they have made us in to the very sword to which we aspired, only to reside on some wall or behind a glass case. Some of us will certainly choose a path forging ahead cutting through the obstacles with the precision of a Samurai sword, but I wonder if we will use our skills as defenders or aggressors. I suppose that will remain the question for each one of us to answer individually.