True Confessions of an Ole Alum

This is a video that a friend shared on Facebook recently. It's a slide show of images accompanied my music from the St. Olaf choir and orchestra. Watching it puts a huge lump in my throat. I miss it deeply. There is something about St. Olaf and my experiences there that have forever changed me and will always stay with me. I probably get more homesick for that small community on "the Hill" than I get for the home I grew up in. Walking across the gorgeous campus and through it's castle-like buildings is just as fairytale-like as they look in photographs. The beautifully wise old trees have quietly witnessed the stories of generations of Oles. Every limestone brick holds a dozen secrets of the past. The knowledge and rich experiences on the Hill are densely saturated and endless, but you only get four years to gather and absorb as much has you possibly can. The people there are some of the highest quality people I have ever met, and as I continue to encounter Oles in my life, there is some inexplicable connection that seems to bond people all members of the St. Olaf community. Even inhaling is comforting, as the Malt O' Meal factory down the road fills the air with scents of cocoa and cinnamon. There is just no other place like it.

... I don't know, maybe I drank too much of the Kool-aid in the caf. I find it difficult to admit such a deep connection to something. I am always fearful of falling too hard for anything, but I'm not going to lie - I am an Ole, and I love it.

Um Ya Ya :)