2018 Edmund Jones Essay

What Swarthmore Means to Me

By Leah Graham

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

My roots are where my cherry tree blossoms. Planted on my birth, we have not moved. When our leaves have been shed, and the cold winds surround us from all sides, our roots keep us steady. And when we blossom with a new spring sun, able to provide shade and beauty, we are appreciated by those who share our ground. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, has given us the earth and nutrients to grow beyond where we were planted.

Under my tree, if you close your eyes, you can hear the footfall of runners and shouts from neighborhood children to each other. In the warm seasons, gentle warmth steams through translucent leaves above as birds speak to each other in a language we don’t share, as they sit in a home we do. While every town has its own natural beauty, it is the feeling Swarthmore portrays to all people, citizens or guests, that makes it unique.

It is a feeling of safety through inclusivity and kindness. At six, when I would walk with my neighbors to SRS, or at eight when I would ride my bike to the Head Nut for Lemonheads, I could leave my house knowing I was not alone. I had no reason to feel scared of getting lost or hurt because Swarthmore looks out for others, regardless of relation. When I fell from my bike, a women I had never spoken to helped get me a Band-Aid, and the first time I took the bus, but did not know my stop, a parent pointed me in the right direction.

Beyond physical safety, Swarthmore has always made me feel safe in myself. I have been encouraged to explore every part of my person by the town that raised me, from hair color to sexuality. The people and the general identity of Swarthmore never denied me my true self, as it created a safe space through human rights activism, that has inspired me to do the same. Our town gave us our roots, my cherry tree and me, and so we are ready to branch out into the vast sky.