Sitting last night at the men’s basketball game, I was soaking everything in… the people on the ellipticals, the crunch of fallen popcorn at my feet, the shrieks of Jerikka as the players from Marian took their foul shots… and somewhere in between a scream and a steal, I noticed the big G on the floor, and I started thinking about our mascot. Rarely celebrated and often derided, I thought too myself, “man, we may not be intimidating, but we’re not your standard mascot. We’re special.”

But we’re more than special. While we do struggle with the ability to use plurals properly, we can at least find solace in the fact that together, leafs can do cool things like create shade on sunny, sweltering days (the kind that Goshen is known for) and provide great places for folks to jump in. Although leafs fall down in the wintertime, (which tends to happen to people in wintertime too) they come back green and new in the spring.  And I could go on for paragraphs about leafs of a Goshen autumn.

The list is long, and I’ll stop here, because I know you’re ready to move on to the fine arts section.  Anyways. Put away your hornets, your eagles, your bears and your wildcats. I’ve seen all of that. Give me your Banana Slugs, your Bunnies, your Pretzels and your Fighting Okra! Take up that leaf and wear it with pride. While one leaf may seem insignificant, together we are mighty! Together we are leafs!  Author’s note: [Yeah, I know there is a reason for spelling leafs like that. It still bothers me.]