WAU Columbia Journal for December 2021 - Student Publication

OF WASHINGTON ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY DECEMBER 2021 VOLUME 42

03 TRANSFORMATIVE ARTICLES FROM WASHINGTON ADVENTIST UNIVESITY STUDENTS

QUEST FOR DIRECTION AND IDENTITY

CONTENTS THE DIRECTIVES QUESTIONS BY AJEYA WATSON

Ajeya offers responses to three essential questions. This article provides a comprehensive view of direction and identity.

03

POWER OF DIRECTION

BY NAOMI DAVIS

07

Naomi ventures through her direction and purpose in life.

AN ATTEMPT TO TRANCPERANCY

BY MARY ALAO

Mary shares her story behind who she is and her expectation of life.

08

NAVIGATE THE GAME -INTERVIEW WITH DEAN TIMOTHY NELSON

12

As we celebrate the homecoming victory, Timothy shares his thoughts on basketball and its relation to identity and direction.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Dear readers, In Biblical and Classical Roots I, Professor Hass asked three self-enquiring questions: Where are you from? Where are you going? What’s your purpose? At the time, I did not think much of the questions. However, as I progress, I believe these essential inquires offer a path into understanding ourselves and our motivations more in-depth. As you read through this journal, you will encounter articles, a poem, and an interview that speaks to our quest for direction and identity. In the end, complete the task of uncovering secrets to your identity by responding to those three self-discovery questions.

AJEYA WATSON

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

WHAT’S YOUR PURPOSE?

On the surface, these questions appear to provoke responses readily; however, they are prompting us to think deeply. I have concluded that to answer such inquiries, I must first answer “Who is Ajeya?”

Am I the voices in my mind that keep me company while making me feel crAzY? Am I the different versions of myself that each person automatically perceives?

Am I the person I see in the mirror who wishes to become her ideal self?

These questions will take a lifetime and more to answer; fortunately, I must remain within this body, this mind, for a lifetime. To be successful on a self- pursuing journey, I must familiarize myself with the person I am today and what made me this way.

Most days, it feels like I lack a constant personality — familiar between my time with others and myself. I seem to constantly be adjusting and changing depending on the characters and attitudes of others. On a oneto-one basis, my personality wishes to compliment others. I automatically attempt to fit into the category of their idea(s) of me or what I want that individual to think of me.

These personalities conflict with one another; they either produce a new disposition or force me to find the closest exit.

On the contrary, my nature while I am alone is relatively consistent. I am calm, peaceful yet quirky, playful, thoughtful; alone, I feel authentically me. These differences within my personality have left me yearning to understand the Ajeya or Ajeyas that lie within.

COLUMBIA JOURNAL / 03

Why am I as I am?

To understand that of any person, his whole life, from birth, must be reviewed.

All of our experiences fuse into our personalities.

Everything that ever happened to us is an ingredient.

-- Malcolm X.

I am a composition of influences of my life’s characters, events, moments, experiences, and disappointments. All that adds to our never-ending rollercoaster of life while being necessary elements to become rounded individuals who can successfully impact the world around us. The most influential beings are usually our parents; personally, my mother’s presence and my father’s absence. If I go back a little earlier, I would say it was the summers with my mother, the glimpses of my father, and the presence of “relatives” who I grew up to view as my immediate extended family.

I am a Jamaican; I lived there consistently for seven years with my close extended family.

Many people say that seven years is not enough time to impact your entire life; however, I must disagree. During those years, I developed fundamental qualites along with my Jamaican pride. My summers in America left me yearning to return to an environment upon which I grounded my identity.

Unfortunately, things rapidly changed one summer. As I packed my bags to leave, excited to show off my new American school supplies to my Jamaican friends, I was informed that my excitement was in vain. I would not be returning to the only place I considered home. I was bound to a foreign land; caged between walls that held up a house not my home.

Growing up for the next eleven years with a single mother is not something my seven-year-old selfanticipated. However, she is perfect for me. My mother is a teacher, supporter, a protector, a giver.

Her confidence as a black woman, a single mother, a woman of God, has taught me how to be and crave independence and solitude while being wholly dependent on God. No matter where I go, what, or whom I come in contact with, my mother’s influence will permanently impact how I navigate life.

Ideals are like the stars: we never reach them, but like the mariners of the sea, we chart our course by them.

--Carl Schurz

Earlier I mentioned that I wondered if I would ever become my idea of the ideal being. The likelihood of making that prototype my reality may be slim, but as Schurz said, I will chart my course by her; in other words, I will strive to become her.

I believe she is curious and open-minded about new ideas that challenge her beliefs yet embarks on these new adventures with analytic eyes and a slightly skeptical mind.

The ideal Ajeya finds comfort within uncomfortable zones that cater to her growth. She is an innovative being whose spirit compels barriers to crumble as she fulfills her evolving purpose.

In an attempt to answer Professor Hass’ questions, “Where are you from?

Where are you going?

What’s your purpose?”

I would respond, I am from August town Road, Kingston, Jamaica. I come from a strong, influential, independent black woman of God. I am going towards my ideal for my reality; accordingly, I step forth with God on my side. My purpose is to share God’s words, love people while doing everything in my ability to empower others and myself.

Though these are appropriate and accurate responses, I believe they will evolve as I continue my life’s journey understanding the depths of Ajeya thoroughly.

POWER OF

DIRECTION NAOMI DAVIS

Where or what are you from?

The short answer is that I am proudly from Dayton, Ohio.

A more thoughtful answer would be that I am from a family that values education and independence, especially for women. This “theme” has been an integral part of how I was raised and is a large part of what motivates me now.

Where are you going?

I am going in the direction of my goals which I feel will change and improve as time goes on. Currently, my main goal is to graduate in four years with my Bachelor of Science in accounting and continue my education with an MBA degree or a Master's in accounting. In essence, I am going towards whatever is needed to ensure that these goals come to fruition.

What is your purpose?

Until recently, I struggled with discerning my purpose and incorporating God into it. I found it difficult to differentiate what I was good at and what I was called to do. Last week, Tiara Best, our Student Chaplin, spoke about this issue at vespers. She made it very plain, simply saying that our purpose is to bring glory to God in whatever we do. So now, I can confidently say that my purpose is to give God glory. This is, of course, with the utilization of my accounting degree (and whatever other degrees I may pursue) along with the talents and gifts God gave me.

COLUMBIA JOOURNAL / 07

MARY ALAO

AN ATTEMPT TO TRANSPARENCY According to Myer’s Brigg Personality Inventory, I am introverted, observant, thinking, prospecting, and turbulent.

These results may be accurate because they encompass characteristics I have observed in myself.

Observant

Usually, it is difficult for me to mingle and make new friends in an unfamiliar environment. Therefore, I tend to be shy when I am with new people.

However, once I get to know them, I become more comfortable socializing like I usually would. As a child, I was always the quiet one, so I learned to observe my surroundings.

Thinking

I become tangled in a spiral of thoughts that habitually lead me to worry about something or someone.

This is not entirely unusual for me, though, as I always have an exceeding load on my plate, and I constantly agonize about my family’s well-being.

Nonetheless, I am in the process of learning was to release myself from the bars of worry and overthinking. Instead, I want to think positively about situations, others, and myself.

Prospecting

Recently I have discovered that I enjoy trying new things and being more openminded to new ideas. I am inquisitive about many different things, making it hard to focus on one thing. I love to do spontaneous activities that most likely distract me from my schedule; however, I left with having to play the never-ending catch-up game.

COLUMBIA JOURNAL/ 08

Turbulent

I enjoy privacy because it elevates the pressure that comes when everyone knows your activities. I enjoy not having to think about what other people would think if I were to change my mind or if I were to make a unique choice. It leaves ample room for me to change as I would like. On the flip side, I enjoy people having opinions different from mine because it gives way for deep discussions.

Overall, my personality has been shaped by past and even current events and people in my life.

Impactful Memories

I believe my personality was shaped through the childhood traumas I went through. I noticed from a young age that when my mother was not happy, I was not pleased. Whenever she cried, I cried with her.

Amid the nasty treatment she received from my father’s family, she still showed them kindness and respect. She cared for us with so much love that only a fool would forget that. My mom has always been the backbone and the leader when it came to my siblings,’ and I’s spiritual life. She explained to us that God is the one who gives her the strength and the patience to continue with that awful family. Growing up with my mother’s values and the negativity of some family members, I learned to be quiet to better observe people. The quieter I was, the more I found myself analyzing each individual and their character; minuscular acts became salient.

The only true measure of life is the memories we keep. My earliest childhood memory is being the flower girl at my aunt’s wedding. I remember gently holding the soft flower petals between my fingers as my beautiful white dress flowed in unison with my dynamic dance moves.

Even as a little child, I have always loved weddings and fancy gatherings.

This makes it no surprise that my most positive memory would be getting dressed in a new outfit for my church’s annual thanksgiving harvest. I can recall being adorned in my beautiful attire as the women ministry scurried throughout my cousin’s home, swarming her house with delicious food that would be served at the harvest. Best of all, my mom and I attended the event as little mommy and daughter.

One of the most satisfying memories would be when my brother and I would go on walks with my mom when she was pregnant with my youngest brother.

We would take long strolls while laughing, talking, and enjoying each other’s company. As I can recall, my mom was always teaching me fundamental life lessons during those pleasant times. She has shown and continues to remind me that I should put God first.

Furthermore, prayer is my communication with God; it is essential, and I should pray every day. To conclude, each sabbath filled with prayer and praise, I happily recall my

mum purchasing goodies for my bother and I. On the other hand, the most negative memory would be when my mom fell sick and almost died. I was only eight at the time, and my younger brother was six. I remember being so confused as to how things could escalate so quickly.

When I left for school in the morning, my mom was okay. When I got back, she was lying helplessly on the floor with only enough strength to tell us that she was sick. However, I did not really understand; I thought she just needed to rest.

Before I could even comprehend the situation, my mom was gone. Her friend took her to the hospital, and she fell into a coma.

Fortunately, God answered my prayers; moreover, my mom and I were soon back to making treasured memories.

My Ideals

In FIVE Years……

Above all, ideally, I must be happy. The only path to a continuous volt of happiness is a solid spiritual life. Living in the presence of God bestows joy that surpasses all understanding.

Therefore, God must be present in every relationship, from my friends and family to my future spouse and children. Love is the most critical thing in a relationship. I firmly believe that love is not an emotion, rather an action word.Though love within my various connections may vary from philia to eros, they must all hold qualities of the love described in the bible.

In five years, I hoped to have completed my bachelor’s degree and started my master’s degree. Also, I would like to have a job while being in a flourishing relationship. My personality will help me to be patient as I privately pray to God about my heart’s desires.

However, I will surrender to God’s leading in my life, therefore, decreasing my will to worry. Unfortunately, my observant characteristics may hinder my goals because they are accompanied by being quiet. Being too soft is sometimes inadequate. It may cause me to miss an opportunity because I did not speak up. On the other hand, I hope to continue being private and observant, yet a bit more extroverted than I am now.

Conclusively, if I could construct an exemplary life, I would be living my ideal life soon. In a few years, I will be halfway through my master’s degree. All while my relationships are thriving. I will be in a happy relationship that is heading towards marriage.

My connection with my brothers and my estranged family members will string.

Most importantly, I will be spiritually rooted in Christ.

NAVIGATE NAVIGATE THE THE

GAME GAME

INTERVIEW WITH TIMOTHY NELSON

I played the point guard position; however, I did Ans. My name is Timothy not play as frequently as I Nelson; I am the men’s dean. would have liked. Over Who am I? I am a child of all, I played for all four God. I haven’t always years, 1991/1992 to embraced that as I should 1995/1996. Therefore, I am have. also a member of the 1992 My purpose within who I am Championship Team. is to bring peace to the peaceless; hope to the Q. As a pioneer, how did it hopeless; kindness to the feel to witness the boys’ bitter, to teach love to the and girls’ teams win the world. The best way for me homecoming game on to do these things is to Saturday (12-4-2021)? reflect Christ. This is who I am.

Ans. It was amazing. I still I got affiliated with the love the game of WAU, which was CUC, basketball even though I through their visit to my do not play as much. academy in Virginia. Not long after, I came to school Particularly as a pioneer here, and after a few years, I team member, it was really neat to watch the joined the 1992 basketball young kids do their thing. team.

Q. Who are you?

It was really cool to see how both teams band together to work cohesively. Being older, I have those moments when it’s like, “wow, I remember when…” or “wow, I wonder if I could still….” I didn’t have either of those thoughts. I just enjoyed watching them.

Q. How did you start playing basketball at WAU? Ans. I was recruited. At that particular time, we had a team that played different academies, so it wasn’t on the level of the 1992 team. Moreso, it was a travel team. On one of the trips, they came to COLUMBIA JOURNAL /12

my school, which by the way they only beat us by five points.

Though I did not play that game due to an injury, I still got recruited.

Q. As it pertains to playing, was there ever a time where things got difficult? What was your motivation in those tubulous periods?

Ans. Before I started playing here at WAU, things were rough. My parents got divorced my senior year of high school. It was kind of messy. I’m calling home, talking to mom, and asking how’s dad doing. She responds, “Oh, you didn’t know, we got a divorce a couple of months ago.”

It was a spiral from there.

My initial first year at this university, or better yet, CUC, was in 1986. I gloriously flunked out.

At that particular time, I was in a lot of pain, and I lacked direction. I had the basketball scholarship, but I bombed, so I lost it.

Afterward, it took me a few years to come back because I couldn’t afford it, but mostly I was not in the mood to go to school. So, for a few years, I just worked, but I could feel God pushing me to return to CUC. So, I got back in school, and not long after, I started playing on the team again.

Q. What did basketball mean to you?

Ans. Initially, basketball was an escape.

Though, it became more important as the years progressed. In my later high school years, I played angrily. When I started playing here, I was still angry, but I did not play enough for basketball to truly become my escape route. I needed more than just practices and workouts.

However, it was still my way of numbing out life.

Q. Over the years, had that changed?

A. Towards the end of playing on the basketball team, I was still angry, still filled with rage, still just lost. But as I moved towards being done with the team, I started to realize that basketball was just a game.

I tried my best to not use it as a way of escape. Instead, just enjoy it for what it was.

The difficulty with that was I was still empty; I did not have God, so I was still trying to figure life out independently. Fortunately, I got pretty good as well as a bit overly competitive. If you crossed me, my goal was to embarrass you.

Q. What has basketball taught you?

Ans. Discipline, Perseverance, patients. I say patients because a great practice does not mean you will do well during the game. It also taught me perspective. It is not easy to play a game when you are playing a game with yourself, trying to believe something while you’re trying to perform. It’s difficult. You have to be all in; your skill will only get you to a point. Most of the game is mental. 7% of it is physical, but 93% is mental. The bottom line is that it takes focus.

Q. Did you experience a relationship between identity and basketball?

Ans. At first, I lived vicariously through it until I got sick of it. I remember having a rough day on my way to the bank. When I walked in, a guy approached me, and the first thing he said was, “yo, you’re gonna dunk tonight?!” I looked at him and said, “You know I’m more than a basketball player, right?” I was fed up with it. Truth be told, his view of me was partly my fault because I allowed basketball to be more than it was. I didn’t know how to just be me.

When you are younger, you are not taught how to adequately express yourself. There is no outlet

to just let your hair (even though I don’t have any); nowhere to just be.

You want to be able to be in a place where no one is expecting anything from you; you’re just able to be yourself.

A lot of time to do something well you have to put on to just do. So, I think it’s crucial to find a place where you can just be.

Q. What was your identity within basketball versus outside of it?

Ans. I tried to mimic Michael Jordan as much as I could. He was my hero.

Trying to hide where I hurt while hoping someone could see through the veil. I needed someone to say, “ you play basketball well, but what’s going on with you?” Overall, my identity split between those juxtapositions. However, through my interaction at the bank, I knew I wanted to be more. There was more to me.

Q. When was your transition into “now I am Timothy Nelson?”

A. It was about 10 years ago. In Genesis, God says, “let us make man in our own image after our likeness.” I knew this from reading and hearing it, but I never believed it until one day I was at a men’s relationship course, the Lord said to me, “Timothy, you are my son, and I love you.”

It broke me. I remember standing up, weeping because it finally hit me.

This is who I am. I now identify with whom God identifies me as. That is freeing.

Q. Has basketball ever given you a sense of direction?

Ans. Back when I was playing, I would just go in and shoot, but in my mind, I was trying to work out some things in life. I think the Lord reaches you wherever you are. Basketball was the medium he used to get my attention. I am in the gym playing; he would give me some ideas to line things up. I never acknowledge that until now. He met where I was instead of pushing me.

Q. How has that direction led you to where you are mentally, physically, and spiritually?

Ans. Physically: I come from a family of athletes.

When I was on the team, I worked out because it was a requirement,

bbut it became something I do for me.

This direction helped me to change my perspective on the reasons behind my actions.

Mentally: Once I separated basketball from life, I enjoyed the game and redirected my focus entirely. I didn’t go into a game hoping to be seen. I used to mark my life based on how well I did. If I didn’t do well, my life sucked. I think this because I didn’t believe in myself yet. Eventually, I realized there’s more to life.

Spiritually: Basketball offered a constant place where I could go. The difference was going there; I would always have to leave. But with him [God], I don’t ever have to leave. Where I am, there he is. No matter how I feel, there he is. No matter what I think, there he is. I don’t have to leave him. I used to call playing, going in the black. So when I went on the court, I went in the black. I am there for the duration of practice or the game,

but when that’s done, it’s over. I can’t sleep there because that is not how it works. But with God, there is no separation.

Q. As it pertains to identity, direction, or growth, what advice would you give to current and potential players?

Ans. There is a difference between being a basketball player (and that's your identity) versus being a person who plays basketball. Find out which one you are. You can find this out by giving yourself a true once-over. Look in the mirror and ask yourself, "who am I?". What does the game need to do for you that God can't? Even if you do not know anything about him, he knows you.

Some players will try fighting their pain through the game, but I want them to know it's ok to hurt. You need to find someone you can trust. Be open to whomever God has to speak to you. You may never know why he placed you to play basketball here, but it's about you being out there in the direction he has set for you

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I am going .........

My purpose is to ........

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