Iwa: Who we are

Dr. Gbedegesin was the guest speaker for this week’s lecture. His lecture was fascinating and profound in the least it was thought provoking and character building. I mention the word “character” because the embodiment of his lecture was around the concept of iwa. At first I thought I was hearing a word from the movie avatar “iawa” but no, this iwa could mean many things and one of them was character. We were repeatedly told that to know ourselves we must look into ourselves and our character. Iwa is what we are. Our whole functionality circumscribes around our iwa, and a pure positive iwa results in a pure embodiment, a decent individual.

Each time I learn a new word in Freshman Seminar it makes me realize the role African American history plays in our current society and how we don’t even realize its function. Dr G’s lecture was a continuum of Dr Carr’s introduction to Egyptology and African ancestry. We were told of omoluabi, a child begotten of the chief or source of Iwa that’s what we are. All of us our own unique characters. But what makes our character? The iwa’s personification through beauty. We become beautiful through building our character through education. With our heightened understanding of the world we enrich ourselves and gain a better character.

What is character and how do we define iwa? One must fully understand these questions before one know his true meaning in life. I consider myself a student for life. I wish to absorb a variety of knowledge. I love education. These components make up my character. Knowing who and what I am shows the distinction of caring and not caring after ones character by saying this, I know that I am taking care of my Iwa.

Another interesting bit of knowledge provided by Dr G was that we were told not to mis-educate ourselves. Following this I hope to stay away from mis-education through learning from reputable sources, understanding my own identity, learning from our history and our ancestors. In other words we must understand that true beauty is through correct education of the mind. It is only than we will find ourselves taking care of our iwa.