When I first came onto campus as a freshman, it was raining. I, having freshly read A Secret History by Donna Tartt and feeling particularly dark academia chic, went on a walk to introduce myself to the 800 acres that is Earlham College. At the official entrance to Earlham on U.S. 40 lies a small circle of stones, in the center of which is a concrete post about 4 feet high. On the post is a brass plate with a short poem dedicated by the class of 1940. It reads:

“The Kicking Post
If there’s a wish within thy heart
To my stone face a kick impart,
And, thought thee may have stubbed a toe,
Upon my word it shall be so!”

Each time I pass by I make a wish and do my darndest to inflict a scratch on the stone. My bootprints have joined hundreds of others who figured it was worth a shot and, without sounding too esoteric, I think it might just work. I am sure that rock is imbued with the wishes of all the students who have stumbled upon this Earlham treasure, and what kinds of wishes those students were making and at its construction one can only imagine. Who knows, maybe they came true. Try and see for yourself.