Halfway Hall

the dinner marked the middle of my time as an undergraduate in magdalene college. at the end of the dinner, the master gave a speech. he recounted how he first met all of us in the same hall on the morning of our matriculation, to tell us the history and architecture of the college, and to tell us that we were a group of 'extraordinary young people' and that we were 'academically promising'.

the master went on to remind us that the second half of our time will only pass quicker, if we thought the first was already too quick, and he warned us against complacency. to further illustrate his point on complacency, he told us a story:

a crow was sitting on the tree doing nothing. a rabbit came along, saw the crow and asked,'can i sit and do nothing all day long just like you?' the crow answered,'yea, why not?'. so the rabbit stopped hopping, sat beneath the tree and did nothing, just like the crow. a fox came along and ate the rabbit.

the moral of the story: if you want to sit around and do nothing, make sure you are sitting somewhere high up.

naturally, the hall applauded the master; he was as eloquent in his speech as always.

now, the expectation to be 'extraordinary young people' who are 'academically promising' and much more-- the Lord will complete the work He has begun in me, amen.