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Lizzy LeBleu, senior

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Granola does a Mind Good- Lizzy LeBleu

What is granola? I don’t mean the breakfast cereal with rolled oats, honey, dried fruits, and/or nuts. I’m talking about a lifestyle.This term, coined “granola” by people everywhere might mean anything from simply owning an eno hammock to maybe spending three weeks alone and barefoot in the deep woods foraging for food.

Trusty Urban Dictionary defines “granola” as

an adjective used to describe people who are environmentally aware with an organic and natural emphasis on living.

I won’t hold Urban Dictionary up as being completely reliable,but it’s a good place to start.

My own definition started early. My mother, having lived in Canada, California, Florida, and Georgia all before going to college, has one of the most open minds of any person I know. She is an environmental engineer who focuses on green building and sustainable architecture... how much more granola can you get? My father spends his free time as a certified crossfit instructor and enjoys biking, running, and, of course, stocking the pantry with paleo food.

My sister and I spent our childhood watching PBS Kids (only on weekends), reusing the same water bottles, composting food waste from our kitchen, printing on both sides of the paper, and recycling anything possible. I had no thought of the possibility that this wasn’t the way everyone did things. Every day at lunch, the elementary school Lizzy LeBleu wanted nothing more but to eat an uncrustable peanut butter and jelly sandwich and jell-o like everyone else.Instead I was the weird kid with tofu from Wild Oats and an embarrassing note from my mom written on a recycled-content napkin.

But “granola” is more than food. As I child, I learned to love the outdoors. I remember my sister and I creating secret hideouts by the creek and climbing the magnolia trees in our backyard - instead of climbing the levels of some video game. We grew up listening to folk songs and attending all the Cheekwood camps. Our time spent outside was priceless.I used to grow plants in our garden in the backyard, and my appreciation of the environment stems from such experiences. In fact, while writing this speech, my arm accidentally brushed the casual potted green bean stalk occupying the right side of my desk. My mother put it there so that I could snack on string beans while writing. The granola never ends.

My appreciation for the outdoors deepened when I decided to attend Camp Juliette Low, an all-girls summer camp in Cloudland, GA. My grandmother attended the Camp and since I’ve been young it’s been a part of my life. We sleep in platform tents, we sail, canoe, chop wood, build fires, hike, and we go on backpacking trips. I’ve learned the ways of the woods and how to work with others in an environment not interrupted by technology. I can whip out my guitar there and we can all sing. It’s amazing how comfortable people get with each other, and themselves, after spending so much time outside. Going without technology for just a bit of time can let our focuses shift away from the social statistics and more towards knowing ourselves and better appreciating the people that physically surround us.

But because of all that, I have grown into the granola teenager that I am proud to be. Although I might have struggled with those elementary school lunches, now I understand that eating well is just about the best thing I can do for myself.These days I spend so much time at Whole Foods, if you’re looking for me, that’s probably where I am. After all, they say to take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live.

“Granola” for me has come to mean connecting with others and finding the best in them. I have learned that as humans we need to treat each other with honor and respect-- because humans deserve nothing less than that.  

You are not a name on a screen or a picture in a box or a number on a sheet. You are much more, and the world would not work the way that it does without you.

I stand here today, not to convert everyone to the granola lifestyle, but simply to tell you how it has shaped my life. I am comfortable in my own  skin, and I am not ashamed of my beliefs or of my thoughts or of the people I surround myself with.

So hold your head high, because there’s only one you and nothing can ever take that away. Go on a hike, appreciate a friend, give someone a smile, and appreciate yourself. Go into these halls and out into the world, and be true, be genuine, and stay granola.