When spring and fall classes are in session every Monday is M.E.G.A on the Ocala Campus. On April 25, the M.E.G.A Monday was all about love.
Presented by Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, this week’s M.E.G.A Monday was a documentary viewing and discussion about the power of love led by two members. The documentary is an episode from a series called “The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman.” The episode viewed during the MEGA Monday was episode three, “The Power of Love.”
The video was a look at different perspectives of love and how each culture and individual can view it differently. It was about the meaning of love and how an act of love can affect a person.
Anne Williams, the Director of Membership Elect for Phi Theta Kappa, was one of the two that led the event.
“What is love? We throw the word around so loosely,” Williams said.
Ariel Johnson, the current Director of Archives and the Vice President for Ocala Elect for Phi Theta Kappa, also led the event.
“It’s a very sensitive topic that is overlooked. Everybody knows love is important, but how much do you actually talk about it? Do you really sit and think about how your love is affecting those in your life?” Johnson said.
From warzones to orphanages, from life on the streets to arranged marriages, forms of love can be found in the most unlikely of places. Throughout the video, Morgan Freeman took a closer look at some of the forms of love found in these unlikely places.
Love means different things to different people and every culture and individual has different ways of expressing and showing love.
During the video, Freeman traveled to a remote region of Southern Ethiopia to visit the Hamar tribe. In this tribe, the women show their love for their male relatives by being whipped during a sacred bull jumping ceremony. This ceremony takes place to symbolize a boy becoming a man. After completing the ceremony, the boy is then able to be married.
Allowing the boy to whip the women is how they show their unconditional love for him. No matter what happens, they will love him.
As displayed in the video, sometimes love is painful and other times just a simple “hello” is a form of showing love.
“A simple ‘hi’ is a form of love. And that simple ‘hi’ can change a life,” Johnson said.
“A lot of college students are currently in relationships and a lot of them are still trying to understand what love is,” Johnson said. “It opens up a discussion and an opportunity to think about how a type of love has affected you and whether it’s good or bad.”
There are many different forms of love. There is the love you have for your family, a friend, a significant other, yourself, and even a stranger.
By understanding the meaning of love and the power that love has over a person, you can better understand what relationships are good for. Also what type of love is healthy and what isn’t.
Nicole Maurer, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, was present for the M.E.G.A Monday really enjoys them and tries to attend as often as she can.
“A lot of people don’t think about the different ways that we can show love. I feel like there is a lot of unnecessary hate in the world and love is very important,” Maurer said.
The video took a closer look at ways that people show love to strangers. One hairdresser in London believes that one act of love can make a big impact. He shows love by giving free haircuts to the homeless.
Small gestures and acts of kindness are forms of love and can make a big difference.
Story and photos by: Taylor Roberts
