I love my shirt. I love my shirt.
I’ve had my Rutgers sweatshirt for many years. I got it during my first weekend on campus. My parents took me to the bookstore and I picked it out with pride knowing that I was a Scarlet Knight. To be honest, I didn’t really participate in many social activities while in college. I was in a demanding major that took a lot of time away from “fun”. However, that sweatshirt made me feel like I was a part of the fun going on around me…..a sense of identity, if you will. I’d wear it around campus and see others sporting their own and it would fill me with comfort.
This feeling or sense of identity, I would later come to find out is Community in its purist form. I was a part of something. Even if I wasn’t an overly active member of the Community on a whole, I was a member and that in itself is huge. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, people are yearning for a place to feel welcome…..a place they can say “those people are just like me”.
Years later, I still wear my sweatshirt, with the missing cuffs and stretched out collar. The shirt that’s traveled across the country with me, stayed up late nights with my daughter, and yes, even run to the grocery store to pick up something for dinner (don’t judge). It still comforts me to think about what it represents. A place of pride, a place of joy, a place of hard work, a place I belong.
Sharing the Good Life!
Melanie
