Hugs Abound

I'm a hugger.  I always have been.  If there's anything my dad taught me to be great at, it's hugging.  So on Monday, with a grammar quiz fresh off our pens, I looked around at all my fellow Greek students and saw a need for hugs.  It started with Andrew, a Korean student who is struggling to translate from Greek to Korean to English.  His always happy face was a bit forlorn, and I wrapped my arms around his neck because there were no words.  His shoulders shook for a second, but when he pulled away he was smiling.  Then there was Kathy, a returning student who is doing extremely well, but is clearly working her fingers to the bone.  I put my arm around her and we touched heads, just a bit of solidarity between sisters.

After chapel I went to coffee hour and listened as everyone tried to determine how they did on the quiz.  I decided, with all these people in the room, to offer up hugs.  I called out, "Who needs a hug?"  They were hesitant at first, but one by one I heard, "I'll take one."  So I hugged.  But there was something more behind it.  We were developing a ritual for our community, one which seems to be enduring.

I had a very hard week myself, and my community noticed.  I'm not usually one to need a hug for comfort, but when my community asked me if I needed a hug, I said yes.  And they hugged me non-stop.  They wrapped me up in love and didn't let go.  They hugged me with grace for incomplete homework, they hugged me with study dates, they hugged me with long talks over wine, they hugged me with walks around campus, and they hugged me with their very presence.  But also, they actually hugged me.  As hard as this week was for me personally, it was a giant step forward in our quest to love and trust one another, and I am so thankful for that.