An EcoHouse alum reflects on people & dependence

Although Eric Keen '08 (who was one of the driving forces behind the push for the GreenHouse) wasn't directly referring to the GreenHouse, I think his thoughts on people & relationships are fairly relevant towards the dependent community we are trying to create with the GreenHouse.

Allow me to wax cheesy for a moment:
Looking back on my four years in college, I find that I can pretty easily draw some generalizations about how I've grown each year. Each semester seems to have its own taste, its own themes, its own lingering repercussions, built upon the previous semesters and upon pre-college life, growing in immensity and meanings. For example, I think my junior year was one in which I got acquainted with adventure and independence. Significantly, my senior year was in many ways the opposite; it has been defined and shaped by the power of relationships, encountering the value and power of friendship and love, devoting myself to people instead of places. I have come to reconsider what adventure is really worth if it is seen as exclusive of meaningful relationships. Perhaps dependence (at least partial dependence) is not shameful; instead, maybe it provides as much opportunity for a grand life as does a plane ticket. I've come to the conclusion throughout this year (especially this last semester, especially during graduation week) that people are not replaceable. One great relationship cannot replace another; something is always lost in losing contact with someone, inasmuch as something is always gained from entering into contact with new people. There's a power there. As I now face the opportunities of life after college, no longer with a formula of how or where or with whom to spend my time and devote my energy, that final conclusion will play a lasting part in how I participate in places, revere memory, engage with people and devote myself to them.