Perseverance: The first crocus
Can you remember a year when we have longed for spring as we seem to long for spring this year? When you have looked down at a patch of frozen earth next to the foundation of the house hoping you might discover the green sprout of a crocus pushing up through the ground. Winter, majestic as it is, cannot compete with our desire to be outdoors on a warm, sunny day. This year when we have spent months confined to our homes which have become the place where we teach our children, take courses, work, dine and are with our families twenty-four seven, it is now time to be with friends, laughing, playing volleyball, riding a bicycle or perhaps even skateboarding. Out and about in the world again.
How appropriate that the rover that landed on Mars last week was name Perseverance. If you have been following the mission to the red planet you may know that the name came from Alexander Mather, a seventh-grade student from Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia.
The idea to invite students to suggest a name for the rover came from Thomas Zurbechen, the Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. It has been reported that he received over 28,000 proposals from students.
In his winning essay Alexander wrote:
Curiosity. InSight. Spirit. Opportunity. If you think about it, all of these names of past Mars rovers are qualities we possess as humans. We are always curious and seek opportunity. We have the spirit and insight to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond. But, if rovers are to be the qualities of us as a race, we missed the most important thing. Perseverance. We as humans evolved as creatures who could learn to adapt to any situation, no matter how harsh. We are a species of explorers, and we will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars. However, we can persevere. We, not as a nation but as humans, will not give up. The human race will always persevere into the future.
Exploration and pushing boundaries have always appealed to me. I seek out writers who are not only exploring with language but with the narrative and the structure of stories. Or musicians like Miles Davis who was one of the most notable individuals in the history of jazz and twentieth century music because of his ability to continually shift to a new musical direction that kept him at the forefront of what was happening in Jazz.
Reading Alexander Mather’s essay made me think again of Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, and the poem she read at President Biden’s inauguration entitled, “The Hill We Climb.” She ends with the thought that one day our country will, or has the potential, to emerge in the spirit of unity.
…We will rise from the sunbaked south.
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover.
And every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful.
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid,
the new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
Over the next few weeks the crocuses will bloom. Spring, with the sap running and bouquet of pussywillows on the table, will lead into a glorious summer. The Perseverance Rover will let us know whether or not there was ever life on Mars. Young leaders, like Amanda Gorman and Alexander Mather, will look at the world through their lens and show us how, through perseverance, we can achieve a sense of unity. Not just in our country but across the globe.
“We, not as a nation but as humans, will not give up. The human race will always persevere into the future.”