80% of what you do, is who you are

2012 Fellows: from L to R: Me, Aisha, Albert, Alysia, Julie, Jen, Ben, Stephanie, Jose-Luis, and David

 

The combination of the fellowship, the fellows, and the city of Boston is bringing with it more new experiences than I could have imagined.

               Seminars, rooted in both answering and proposing questions have been coupled with a stunning mix of personalities in the room, all inevitably with their learning hats on. From day 1 of orientation, our bonding was inevitable. Boston is a remarkable city, embracing the culture of conversation under any circumstance. David’s ability to create relationships with strangers has rubbed off on me. I must proceed with this new found spontaneity with caution, as the feeling of being invincible when I am around the fellows can also be dangerous. But the group’s diverse experiences are giving me nine new lenses from which to view life. I could write on my colleagues forever, but instead, I will focus on some of the experiences the past few weeks have brought, all while knowing that these moments would mean significantly less to me if not for both old and new friends who shared them with me. 
 

                Walking around Boston for hours a day (usually with Julie) was the perfect way to make a new home.

               I finally had dinner with John Mackey, who also recently moved to the area. I got to ask him the hundred questions that were on my mind. Invitations to eat Indian food with President Woodcock and Benjamin Zander are next.

               Speaking of Ben, his class on Fridays was remarkable-- a hybrid of spiritual revival and artistic exploration.

               I joined the Longwood Symphony, an orchestra comprised almost entirely of medical professionals. The funds for the concerts go back into various medical organizations—a.k.a. community service through music. I wonder if that’s relevant to El-Sistema

               Visited Community Music Works in Rhode Island last week. Coupled with a room full of new colleagues was an environment that felt like a home. Good food initiated great conversation. No elite status about it.

               Rehearsals and meetings at NEC are nothing like anything I have experienced. The performing level is stunning, (a word I stole from Erik Holmgren, our fearless leader) but so is the creativity in activities the students engage in. I ran into a sitar major a few weeks ago—at NEC? Go figure.

               Softball on Sundays (our team is called Funday Sunday) is the single greatest stress relief at the end of highly eventful weeks.

               Having lifelong friends like John, Jen, Natalie, Christian, Clarie, Kriti and Priti near Boston reminds me daily of who I am and where I came from.

               I started tutoring a guy I met on Craigslist in English. Totally random. Totally awesome. And a total heads-up that volunteer work is still awfully fulfilling.

               My roommates Jeff and Katie have a cat named Olivia, and she gets pampered by me, bigtime.

               Public speaking, learning Spanish, and going running are getting me out of my comfort zone. Perfect.

               An epic night in Cambridge culminated in singing Barbershop quartets on the street at 1am with 15 random strangers who I met minutes before.

               The fellows are leading a project inspired JR’s TED Prize wish and its probably the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of. 


               Ben Zander said it best yesterday: Stop thinking about your life as a biography, and start thinking about it as possibility. Truly, the past few weeks have been just that.