To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. —Ralph Waldo Emerson I had never understood until this weekend’s Woodhull Alumnae Retreat what it meant to be fully present with myself. It amazed me how I could spend a whole weekend being elatedly content to look at the sky, walk the lands, taste the fruits of the earth, watch the hawks circling for their next feast and listen to the playful arias of the birds. At dawn, rays of light peaked mysteriously through the branches. If I stared long enough the faces of time stared right back at me. The quiet wind kissing each branch lovingly until they danced to meet its rhythm. Sometimes clinging tightly to each other. Other times bouncing away from each other’s energy. Here in the woods, the rustle of a single dry leaf along with the crunch of our footsteps seemed as if we were walking with a hundred men instead of four women. Oh to be a tree. My bark rough, strong and dark. My sap sweet, nourishing and inviting. My feet firmly grounded in the earth like the same tangled web of roots that cannot, will not be uprooted. Someday soon. But for now I roam in quiet contemplation of my place amongst God’s magnificent creatures. Patricia Philippe, Woodhull Master Writer’s Class Alumnae

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