This Old Dog Doesn’t Need New Tricks

Over Thanksgiving break I went to visit one of my best friends at her house (Congratulations, Hannah, you made the blog!). I’ve been to Hannah’s house and been around her family countless times over the past five years, and each time I pull into the driveway I have a basic idea of what to expect when I knock on the door. Two dogs will bark and run to the door to greet me, and someone will come to open the door for me within a minute or two. I step inside, kick off my shoes, say hello to whoever’s around, and take it from there.

When I knocked on the door over break, the normal ritual took place. But something was different. Instead of two dogs greeting me, it was three. Hannah’s sister had just gotten a cute new puppy.

A good portion of my visit was spent watching the puppy run around and play with one of the older dogs. Every few minutes the puppy would do something interesting or funny. Everyone was enjoying sitting around and taking part in the youthful exuberance that the puppy emanated. Everyone, with one exception.

The third dog was curled up quietly at the foot of the couch, paying no attention whatsoever to the puppy. I asked Hannah what was wrong with Zelda, and she told me, “Nothing. She just ignores the puppy.” My first thought was jealousy. It seemed that all the focus, energy, and attention had shifted to the newcomer and Zelda was feeling neglected.

Then I thought more about the situation. Maybe, I decided, Zelda wasn’t being jealous. Maybe Zelda was doing something admirable by letting the puppy have its time to shine. Maybe Zelda remembered her earliest years when she was in the same position and she didn’t want to detract from the youthful experiences every puppy should have by trying to steal the spotlight.

If you’re still reading you’re probably wondering what any of this has to do with anything. Let me explain.

A couple months ago the first-year student bloggers began posting for the first time. The first-years are fresh, they’re excited, they’re soaking in every ounce of every new experience that college life brings. They’re eager to share and prospective students who read these blogs are eager to listen. They are the metaphorical puppies, and they’ve taken the blogosphere by storm.

As for me? I’ve been curled up at the foot of the couch watching it all unfold. But what I’ve come to realize, and what I’m sure Zelda will realize if she hasn’t already, is that adding new players doesn’t always have to mean putting someone on the bench. I’m an asset to the Holy Cross blog page just like Zelda is an important member of Hannah’s family. That’s why I’m whipping off my warmup gear and putting myself back into the blogging game today.

I promise not to sniff any of the new bloggers’ butts.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 6th, 2010 at 2:09 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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