Meditation of the Week: Dara Ogunwale
By KAROLINA KOZAK, SEAN RICARD, and MELIA THIBAULT
On the quiet Wednesday morning of Feb. 12, students trekked through snow and frozen-over paths to Phillips Church, eager to hear the weekly senior meditation. At 9:50 a.m., senior Dara Ogunwale stood before them, ready to share her melodic story—a harmony of words, memories, and music that filled the air.
Ogunwale’s meditation started out with a saxophone performance, transitioning quickly into a vivid description of her grandfather playing the Gangán, also known as a talking drum. She then went on to connect the experience of the Gangán to aspects of her life, drawing powerful comparisons and metaphors along the way.
A key theme of Ogunwale’s meditation was the exploration of adaptability and identity. She reflected on how she has had to mold herself to different environments. “You should be able to be flexible–is what I want people to get from it. You don’t necessarily have to be unique at all times. There can be a side of you that’s flexible and dynamic.” Ogunwale related the Gangán to that theme, drawing a parallel to the instrument as a talking drum that adapts to the rhythms around it. “I’d say the way the Gangán is able to adapt and reflect whatever is being thrown at it and mimic human speech is very similar to my life. Wherever I find myself, whether it be here in the United States or Nigeria back home, I always find myself molding and adapting to whatever is surrounding me.”
Beyond adaptability, Ogunwale further reflected on the tension that exists between external expectations and internal truth. She compared this to tension chords on a drum, which stretch and tighten to create structure and sound. “It’s called tension chords because it looks as though it’s about to snap and we’d never know if it’s going to, and they’re little pillars. I talked about how tension has shaped my life with the flight and how I never know if I’m going to snap the drum. But those in-between pillars that hold the drum together are what hold me together.”
Ogunwale also acknowledged the emotional weight that comes from constantly shifting between cultures. In particular, she highlighted the manifestation of that weight in the simple act of speaking. “When I go back home, I switch my accent. When I come back here, I switch my accent, and it’s just really hard because if I talk here how I talk at home, people are going to be like, why are you speaking like that? And if I talk the way I talk here at home, people will ask questions.”
The constant switching — the pressure to fit into different molds — became exhausting at times for Ogunwale. “So sometimes it’s just hard to really portray who I really am because I have to keep switching and moving back and forth depending on where I am and my surroundings. Sometimes I just want to be myself.”
When asked how she balances the pressure of expectations while staying true to herself, Ogunwale pondered: “I just remind myself the things that keep going for me, and in moments of tension, I remember going on that airplane and being able to do that on my own when I was five, and I feel as though if I could do that, I could do anything that comes to me in life, no matter how hard it is. I know I can surpass it.”
Ogunwale reflected on her wishes for the audience, hoping that they would take away and appreciate the deeper messaging behind her piece. “To anybody who reads my meditation, if you get a chance, there are some parts that if you don’t pay much attention to, you might not necessarily pick up on” She explained, “There’s a lot of subtle messages and hidden metaphors and Easter eggs… and a lot of music analogies.” She wants readers and listeners to appreciate the deliberate connections, “I would really love for people to understand the little things like that that are in between the piece because it’s a really deep message that I’m trying to get across.”
The meditation was well-received by students, with many taking away valuable lessons. Lower Victor Angeline reflected on his takeaways. “I learned that you have to keep important parts of your identity and your culture with you when you’re moving to new and foreign places.”
Upper Dylan B. Richardson connected the meditation to certain themes that were being discussed in his English class. “We read a bit about W.E.B. Du Bois in class. He talks about this idea of double consciousness and how people portray themselves outwardly because of the expectation that other people have, and I saw a lot of those ideas reflected in Dara’s meditation.”
Students also lauded specific details that made Ogunwale’s meditation particularly unique: “She started off playing the saxophone, which was cool. She also jumped in and out of the story of her grandfather with the drums and stories about her experience, which I thought was great,” Angeline shared. Richardson cited a specific instance he found stuck with him. “I think her connection to the game “Dress to Impress” was incredibly interesting. She could have just described that as her own sort of day to day experiences, but I think bringing in that analogy was a fun thing that she did, added a lot to the storytelling.”
Ogunwale also spoke on the experience of writing her meditation and made a point of acknowledging the help she received along the way: “I would [definitely like to thank] my English teacher; Dr. Hearon was really helpful because he helped guide me through because this is a very complex piece.” She continued, “There are so many layers to it. At some point, I got really confused on how to structure everything, but he really helped me discuss and talk through how I could potentially order each of the parts of the meditation”
She also shouted out a close friend, senior Laura Saldarriaga: “And then also my friend Laura, she was really helpful with the piece and giving encouragement and with the descriptions and things like that.”
Through music and storytelling, Dara Ogunwale captured the tension of navigating cultures and environments while staying true to herself. The talking drum’s rhythm echoed her journey, reminding us that strength lies in embracing both change and authenticity.
