Heroes and Mystics 2026

Frankenstein is my favorite book of all time. It gives good insight into the question of what it means to be human. One interesting part of the book is in Volume 2, Chapter 3, where the Creature describes his experiences after being abandoned by his creator, Victor Frankenstein. These experiences closely align with the creation of the Earth as is outlined in Genesis 1. In Genesis 1:2-3, God creates light, dividing it from the darkness. As the Creature, newly made, makes sense of his surroundings, he notes a darkness ended by a piercing light. Moving to verse 9, God separates the waters from dry land. The Creature moves to rest by the side of a brook, taking a drink of water. In verses 11-12, God makes trees yield fruit. The Creature, having been on an exhausting and enlightening journey so far, is feeling hungry, deciding to eat some berries he found from a tree. God then creates the sun and the moon, the moon and stars lighting the night sky. Night falls where the Creature rests, and ...

Continuing a discussion on Hadestown just because I love it so much and there is truly so much material that can be talked about. I love the concept of hope that Hadestown presents. Throughout the show, we are reminded that this is an old song, an old story, the outcome of which is pretty well known. The narrator, Hermes, does not shy away from making it clear that it’s a sad story, a tragedy. Despite these reminders, the moment that Orpheus turns around, failing the trial, a gasp sounds from the audience. Even those who have seen the show numerous times before feel the emotional impact of the moment. From the beginning, we are told that Eurydice does not make it out, but we still hold hope that maybe this time she will. In the final song of the show, Hermes says: “It’s a sad song, but we sing it anyway. Cause here’s the thing. To know how it ends, and still sing it again, as if it might turn out this time— I learned that from a friend of mine.” In this moment of sadness, the song turn...

Earlier this semester, I had the opportunity to watch the touring cast of Hadestown perform in the Ferguson Center. This is my favorite musical, so it was a dream come true that they came here. I think one of the most powerful themes in Hadestown is love. Orpheus fights against the intended way of things to follow Eurydice into Hadestown, promising to bring her back to the world above. Hades agrees to let her go, but only if Orpheus does not turn around to look to make sure she is close behind him until they exit the Underworld. Orpheus is unable to do so, eventually checking to see if she was there. After the show ended, I heard some people criticizing his actions, saying that if they were him, they wouldn’t have looked back. But I think that’s so much easier said than done. Orpheus loved Eurydice so much that it was impossible for him to not ensure that she was there. When I’m walking through a crowd ahead of someone I care about, I’m constantly unconsciously checking behind my back ...

I’m slowly working my way through watching Supernatural, a show about two brothers combatting supernatural entities. One episode had a quote that stood out to me: “If you have faith, you can’t just have it when the miracles happen. You have to have it when they don’t.” This reminds me of when we discussed concrete vs abstract thinking. Only having faith when a miracle occurs would be solely concrete thinking, something that we observe with our senses. But if we observe something and that’s why we believe, then that’s not really true faith. Faith is often defined as a strong belief in something without absolute proof that it exists. True faith requires abstract thinking, something that can only be comprehended with our minds. You can’t solidly prove that something you have faith in is true, but you also cannot prove that something someone has faith in does not exist. The lack of evidence is also a lack of an absence. Faith is ultimately believing that things have the ability to become b...

In class we discussed the significance of trees in our lives, and why they are so important to us. Everybody has a story about a tree! I talked about how my dad took me to visit the church where he grew up, a church that he had helped build. I was looking at all the big trees around me, and my dad told me that he had planted them himself. That really struck me, that something someone so close to me had done had created such a large result. I didn’t think my dad thought much of the experience, but the other day he brought up these trees completely unprompted. I think part of the reason trees fascinate us so much is because they are a symbol of unwavering strength. They push their roots deep into the ground, stabilizing themselves against harsh storms and winds. They take years to grow strong, but once they’re rooted it takes a lot for them to fall. I think we want to be like them, able to withstand the biggest tempests of our lives. I don’t know if it’s like this everywhere or if my nei...

I remember one time in class we were discussing how art can be used to influence people’s thinking. We talked about how art can bring a sense of comfort as well as how it can be used as propaganda. The Met Gala happened recently, a gathering of extremely influential people who have the ability to make a statement through the art of fashion. The theme this year was “Fashion is Art.” It’s hard to pick a favorite look, but I really appreciated Bad Bunny’s interpretation of the theme. He took the opportunity to make a statement about the demonization of aging in entertainment industries, showing up dressed as a version of himself 60 years in the future. This is an example of how art can be used to bring to light issues in our society, and to influence people towards thinking a certain way.