Episode 21: Senior Chapel Talks by William Elms, Rui Fu, and Payton Down

As a child, William Elms thought a community was just a group of people. In his #SeniorChapelTalk, he explained that it wasn’t until his sophomore year here at TMI that he realized it is much more. This community, he said, was part of his family. But what is family? He read the dictionary’s basic description and went on to say that for him, family is “a group of people who have a strong bond or connection between them.” Explaining his four families–blood, football, lacrosse, and friend–he reflected on the love, memories, and lessons that each family has taught him and given him. Not all families are related through blood, “TMI is about community and community to me is family…cherish your families, have fun with your families, respect your families, but most of all, love your families.”

We are all puppets, Rui “Raymond” Fu said at the beginning of his #SeniorChapelTalk. He explained how technology has changed the way we receive information, while at the same time made it increasingly more difficult to think independently. The Internet is a host of voices, ready to tell people how to think and where to stand on any given topic, and the media often shapes stories and sometimes hides the truth. “Many people fear rejection, so we do not speak up,” he said. But, it’s the “people with independent thoughts and the the courage to speak up [who] are the ones that shape and mold our society today.” Do not take the easy way out by letting others do the thinking for you. “Take advice from others, with rationality, instead of taking the advice without independence,” he said. And you will know that, “you are making the right decision.”

Painting the picture of sitting in the back of a police car while her family’s vehicle was being towed out of a snowbank, Payton Down told the story of how three angels came to save them after they slid off the road one snowy night in Colorado. The road was mostly abandoned, due to the storm, and was supposed to be a shortcut to Aspen. As they wondered how they could get help, three vehicles soon arrived on the empty, closed road. The first was a pickup truck and the driver had everything necessary to tow them out. The next vehicle was a police officer who offered to call for additional help. The final car was a calm couple who asked if there was anything they could do. The simple acts of kindness by these strangers–who were referred to as angels by her mother–inspired her to be there for others. “One day I hope to be that angel for someone else. What about you?”