After a day like today, it’s hard not to feel like your cup runneth over. We’ve taken in so much — so many voices, ideas, and emotions that it’s nearly impossible to capture the full scope of what we’ve just experienced.
We’ve heard from extraordinary individuals — brilliant minds and passionate hearts — who offered stories that were sometimes compelling, sometimes devastating, often infuriating, and always inspiring. In listening, one is left asking: How do I make sense of all of this?
What do I take away from it?
As I reflect on Day One of the WAVES Festival, three themes stood out to me: kinship, narratives, and place.
1. Kinship: The Power of Being in Relationship
A recurring thread throughout the day was the theme of kinship and relationship — a reminder that we are not, and never were, alone.
Whether in the breakout sessions exploring science and the ocean, or in the arts presentations where sound and creativity intersected with marine life, the idea of interconnectedness kept surfacing. From the medicinal properties derived from sea life to the stories of resilience built through human bonds, today showed us how being in relationship — with nature, with each other — is the core of our strength and resilience.
It’s in our relationships that we find meaning and hope. The wisdom of the day reaffirmed that truth again and again.
2. Narratives: The Stories We Tell Ourselves
If kinship was the heart of the day, narratives were its spine.
Several speakers reminded us of the narratives they are wrestling with — cultural, social, and personal. Baratunde Thurston kicked us off with a compelling framework: shifting from me and us to we. Michele Norris echoed this sentiment as we closed, talking about what it means to truly embrace the collective we.
Over the course of the day, we examined how the stories we tell ourselves shape our urban design, how we care for the aging, and how we support — or fail to support — young people. The stories we believe determine what we think is possible.
One of the most powerful examples was in the conversation about race — honest, urgent, and necessary. And yet, at the end of it all, we’re left with this question: Can we really change the narrative?
Can we truly reimagine how cities are designed? Can we really reinvent civic spaces? These are hard questions — but they’re the right ones to ask. They challenge us to push past cynicism and lean into collective action and belief.
3. Place: The Unspoken Theme
There was one more theme today — never named, but deeply felt: place.
All day, we sat with the Pacific Ocean just outside the window, its breeze reminding us of where we are. We gathered in one of the nation’s premier educational institutions, in a region that’s as biodiverse as it is culturally rich. And we were surrounded by the full complexity of San Diego — its innovation, its military legacy, its art, and its capacity for reinvention.
Sometimes we take the character of this place for granted. But it’s foundational. The stories we tell, and the kinships we build, are shaped by the ground we stand on. Today reminded me not just of San Diego’s immense potential, but of the gift of being here with all of you.
As we move into Day Two of WAVES, I encourage us all to hold these themes in mind. Reflect on the relationships that nourish our resilience. Question the narratives we carry — and those we want to rewrite. And don’t forget to honor this place, this community, for the unique stage it provides for possibility.
