December is here, and I already feel the pace picking up. Once we get to this point in the year, it’s a downhill slide to the end of the month and I start thinking about if I’ve kept my New Year’s resolutions or not (hint: mostly not). Then my mind goes right to the impending spring semester. Once it begins, it goes by so quickly, and before you know it, it’s Commencement time.
I suppose living in the moment is not my strong suit. I spend so much of my time thinking (read: worrying) about the future that I very often forget to enjoy the moment and revel in the memories being made.
The holidays are meant to be a time to love, laugh and reflect with friends and family. So why is it that the days leading up to them are so harried? And when the season is over – the relatives returned to their homes, the leftovers eaten and the credit card bills waiting in the mailbox – what will we remember?
With mindfulness our goal this busy holiday season, we at the View are proud to highlight some colleagues who have many rich experiences to look back on and celebrate.
Ken Galloway, the focus of our cover story, reflects not only on high points from his tenure as dean of the School of Engineering, but – as he prepares to transition into a new role – some fish tales as well.
In our story about the First Amendment Center’s 20th anniversary, founder John Seigenthaler and his colleagues take the time to relay some of their most interesting moments over the past two decades of advocating for our most basic freedoms (spoiler alert: they include Hank Williams Jr., censored song titles and Ke$ha).
We hope you are inspired by these stories and the others you find here. And as you dash from one party to the next, from one store to another, we hope you’ll enjoy every moment, for each is a potential memory to make, cherish and share.
Joan Brasher
Editor in Chief, Vanderbilt View
joan.brasher@vanderbilt.edu