Forum, I think of this five-letter word as the perfect representation of the beginning of a journey for whoever comes to WUR. The square monolithic castle is located at the heart of campus, but this building is nothing without its revolving doors. The three rotating doors of Forum are daily witnesses of a billion moments, emotions, memories, experiences, and perhaps the unknown as well. The three rotating doors represent many things for me and many people, and apparently, not many are aware, until now, of their existence. I’m convinced whoever came through the revolving doors, withholds a moment that is worth to be told.
The doors can tell a plethora of stories that have never been told
I like to think that in the daily comings and goings, these doors have taught thousands of students about punctuality. Remember when you were running late? The doors will get you accidentally caught, so, next time you should always be on time. It happened to me. Does it ring a bell for you? One can always learn about patience with the revolving doors; it teaches you to not rush your steps in life, for there will always be a blocked entrance if you are not walking at the right pace. Have trouble with being sleepy? I once witnessed how these doors used their sturdy glass and a colleague’s forehead to ring the alarm, the perfect wakeup call. What about style lessons? Maybe your favourite dress, skirt, or trench coat received a smokey print on it, and if you were lucky, a brand-new ripped design. Let us not forget about exclusivity. The revolving doors know about status and privileges, for no one is allowed to enter without their ‘WUR-card’ membership during the weekends.
These doors have seen the faces of happiness, sadness, excitement, defeat, hope, disappointments, homesickness, anger, and all that makes us Wageningers. The doors can tell a plethora of stories that have never been told, yet we don’t seem to notice them. Next time you go to Forum, I would like to invite you to pay attention to the revolving doors, and behold, there is a new story about to come.
Willy Contreras-Avilés (34) is a second-year PhD candidate in Horticulture and Biochemistry of medicinal cannabis, from Panama. He likes to dance (perrear), cook Italian food, and swim.
