by Walton Clark, Office Assistant
Time is the constant relative. 10 years, 7 stops on the green line, 3 snoozes of the alarm clock, 6 family members born; we measure the passing of time in so many ways. We know that it doesn’t change, that it doesn’t pass us by any differently from one day to the next. But then again we aren’t robots. We are human beings.
During my senior year of college, I was fleshing out my schedule for my last semester and I took a drawing class. I thought it would be a fun, easy way to fill some credit hours. Easy it was not. That drawing class took up so much time. I would sit and sketch and then go back remove mistakes and continue sketching. It would take so long to draw a single piece of furniture. While I was sitting and sketching, I came to the realization that this was the first drawing class I had taken in over ten years. Most of the things I do and remember are within the immediate past. As a young man, this was the first time I could refer to something in terms of decades.
Flashforward to last week. Mayyim Hayyim was celebrating its 10th anniversary at The Ripple Effect. Ten years of people, ten years of programs, ten years of growing an organization. As a newcomer to Mayyim Hayyim, I don’t hold much authority or expertise on its history. I am at most a casual observer. That being said, having worked and seen the results of the event, I have been able to see how the organization has changed over time, from old documents, photos and stories people have told me. I imagine that there were times, as this organization was building, that were like being stuck in the art studio, having to expend enormous concentration and focus while the minutes seem to drag into each other. There would be times that you would furiously erase something you didn’t like and start again. In the end, though, when the piece is complete, you stand back and admire what you created, seeing that the time and effort went into making something new in the world. Mayyim Hayyim is not a complete piece of art. It is an ongoing project. But for one night, it was fitting to take a step back and to just look, just see, the road traveled thus far.
Original Concept Art for Mayyim Hayyim Building
Walton Clark is Mayyim Hayyim’s office assistant and jack of all trades. He is a 2011 graduate cum laude of Tulane University as well as an alum of City Year Boston. He is a working musician in Boston, playing keyboard and writing songs in a variety of groups. You can follow him on Twitter @walt_twitwalker and on Instagram @welaxer.