Hang On Sloopy

As an undergraduate at The Ohio State University, my favorite part of this song was always the lusty "O! H! I! O!" that fans energetically insert during the chorus, using their arms to form the letters as they bellow them.

Now, as I navigate the root- and puddle-ridden paths of graduate study, I still hold this anthem close, but now my favorite part is in the title: "hang on." I picture myself as a determined Sloopy, dead-set on maintaining my hold on all the aforementioned items I am juggling. My Facebook status this evening stated that my current to-do list has "claws and fangs." I am battling this monster monolith of tasks (made all the more monstrous through a short but costly lapse in fighting them back) tonight with all the armor I've acquired over my years in the RPG known as graduate school. If I can battle wisely, I will advance to the next level.

The evening hours stretch out before me - this time is dedicated to reading, thinking, writing, planning. Making connections; taming the beast of panic that scratches at the door. Beating back the idea that there will never be enough time, that I will never know enough of history, philosophy, rhetoric, humanity to craft thoughts and ideas that others will find valuable and relevant. The time I have is what I've got. And what I've got to do during this time is hang on - just like Sloopy does every Saturday at the Shoe and on the road.

If only life could be as blissfully simple as it was in the days when I would bellow O-H! and have a crowd on the other side of High Street yell back: I-O! Those days are gone, but the tools I acquired there remain in my arsenal - and tonight, I'll use every single one.