It's a wonderful thing to look at life from the high ground of middle age. As I approach 50, I think back to my freshman year in college with a knowing smile, remembering my own journey to independence (and Middlebury, Vt.) some 30 autumns ago. And I look forward 20 years to a time when, freed of the daily burdens of career and accomplishment, I might once again have the opportunity to redefine myself and fulfill a few more youthful dreams.
This issue of the Bulletin explores the bookends of adulthood-college and retirement. Some see these two periods as our halcyon days, when our freedom is at its zenith; yet for many they are also days of intense introspection, and sometimes of great struggle. In our teens and 20s, we strive to learn who we are and how we might live in the world. Later, as life creeps or crashes to its inevitable conclusion, we have a chance to look back at who we have become. If the journey itself is what really matters (which I think it is), then our consciousness about that journey-our contemplation, self-awareness, and expression-is what matters most.
For those of us who work on campus, Swarthmore's students provide a renewable window into what it means to be young. Their intellectual curiosity, their questions both naive and profound, and their search for the truth about themselves and the world give the the College its raison d'etre. And Swarthmore alumni-especially those over 65-constantly help us understand what it means to live a complete life. I often find myself reading this magazine's class notes as I would an autobiography, working from back to front through grad schools, loves, careers, kids, retirement, illness, loss, and death-the sweep of life in 32 pages of 9-point type.
One person on the Bulletin staff has made me keenly aware of how I might try to live the rest of my life. Bob Wood, our 82-year-old graphic designer, is incredibly creative and alive at a time when others have left their careers behind. His busy life at Kendal at Longwood, and his never-stale approach to the marriage of words and images that makes a magazine, are an inspiration. Bob "thinks young"-almost like a freshman-but his designs are informed by decades of experience. It's a perfect combination for the work he continues to do so well.
Perhaps you remember your freshman year with fondness, perhaps with pain. Perhaps you look forward to old age (or are living it) with equanimity, accepting the passage of time as you accept the quiet rhythm of your heartbeat. Perhaps not. For me the prospect of growing old is particularly enticing. Maybe if I play my cards right, I'll get to be a freshman again. -Jeffrey Lott
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