First Experience Being a Mensch

Having last night written about the definition of what a Mensch is and why I am trying to become one, I now remember the first time I was called by that particular name. While I wish I could be poetic and say it was a year ago to this day, that would be a lie. It was just over a year ago now, and at the time, I was honestly more concerned about my classes than anything else. My college is one of the many that, before the finals really begin, has the alternative gifts fair. If you have never heard of this particular event, I direct you to their website as they can explain it much better than I could ever hope to.

Now back to the story. I was at this alternative gifts fair with a few of my good friends. I had been pestered all December and most of the later part of November for what I might want for the holidays by my relatives. At the time, I honestly didn't want anything except to be back home for the holidays. I was also, as is the custom with me, doing some last minute gift shopping of my own. Being in small town Ohio does not give one many opportunities to get one's holiday shopping done. As I searched the alternative gifts, pieces of paper letting me know what my money would be going towards, I mentioned to my friend Stephanie that perhaps instead of conventional gifts, I would like all of my relatives to get me an alternative gift.

It was then that Stephanie said that would make me a real mensch. I was flattered to be called as much, as by that time some Yiddish had been restored to my vocabulary after many years worth of absence. It was there, in that small room right behind the main dining hall of my college that the idea that has become this blog was born. It was far from what anyone might call a spectacular inception, but since then, I have long thought about what it means to be a mensch and how one can have such a title in this day. So, a little over a full Gregorian (contemporary predominant calender system) year later, here I am, still far from being a mensch in my own estimation.

However New's Year Eve is soon, and that will give me a chance to make my resolutions, most of which I hope will lead me to being a real person of honor and valor.