I Am Because We Are

I Am Because We Are

For the first time in 710 days, avid sports fans like myself finally get to watch March Madness take over the sports world. For a week and a half, 64 Division 1 College basketball teams will battle until one team remains. That team will be crowned NCAA Champion and etch their names into the history books. 

While watching Michigan State play against UCLA, I noticed that the Michigan State players had a phrase printed on the back of their warm up jerseys. The phrase read,”I am because we are.” At first,I had second hand embarrassment because I legitimately thought it was a misprint and a word or two were missing. After diving into the phrase a bit more, I was presented with a word that I surprisingly recognized: Ubuntu.

Ubuntu comes from the Zulu phrase "Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu," which translates to, "a person can only be a person through others." According to South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, "Ubuntu is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong." It was a concept championed by Nelson Mandela and a word that captures Mandela's greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that are invisible to the eye, that there is a oneness to our communities, that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.

Swimming is a very individual sport; we race in a lane by ourselves almost exclusively unless we are in a relay. Fortunately for us, the bulk of how we spend our time in the pool is around teammates and coaches. Having a selfless approach to interacting with your teammates at practice is an approach that can truly bring out the best in people. With the word Ubuntu in mind, it is easier to wrap your head around the idea that being the best version of yourself every day will allow those around you to become the best versions of themselves. Your teammate can't be all they can be, unless you are all you can be. I can never be threatened by you because you're good, because the better you are, the better I will be. 

Putting in deliberate and hard work on a daily basis will not only help you become the best version of yourself, but it will help those around you also become the best versions of themselves. If you give your best effort, people around you will give you their best effort. Remember, if an individual wants to go fast, they are better off going alone, but if we as a team want to go far, we must go together.

Go SMAC, and let’s Giddy Up and go fast this weekend!

Julian