Scratching the Surface

" Few people even scratch the surface, much less exhaust the contemplation of their own experience." - Randolph Bourne. Through our study of history, we are made aware that America has just scratched the surface of its potential, through its literature we contemplate its depth. We ponder the haunting words with which Poe describes his undying love and loss and we feel it. We consider the loyalties of both Lincoln and Lee and understand perspective. We contemplate our own judgement and misunderstandings through the works of Hawthorne and Miller. We carefully consider the obstacles overcome by Frederick Douglass and find the strength to struggle another day. Like America, we have only yet scratched the surface of our potential.We are a part of the American experience, therefore we are tied to its themes. Like F. Scott Fitzgerald said, " We beat the boat against the current, borne back ceaselessly into past." We have returned to our past; however, to contemplate rather than repeat it. Between the covers of this collection of memoirs, you will find a subtle revelation of lessons we have learned. For here we have written stories of forging loyalty, living with loss, overcoming obstacles, bridging misunderstandings and struggling to achieve.Through the writing process we have honed our craft. Our writings are etched with the style of the great American authors. With precision we incised sensory detail, scored our tales with authentic dialogue, cut in colorful symbolism. Our carefully crafted words carved out pointed moods. We have written and rewritten and rewritten. We have become writers.Still we have just scratched the surface of our understanding, our talent, ourselves. We, like America, are still young and discovering our depth, and we are not afraid to dig. It is because we bothered to scratch and claw that we have begun to uncover the real depth of our beauty, that beacon of light, beneath the surface.