Carly Wheeler | Contributor
Senior Adam Fraz is known for saying hello to everyone he sees and greeting friends with a fist bump. He especially loves saying hi to his friends during meals in the Hodson Dining Commons or the LaRita Boren Campus Center.
Although, Fraz admitted, his mealtimes often include more conversation than eating, one of his favorite memories from his time at Taylor ironically involves food.
In January of 2017, Fraz went on a Lighthouse trip to Poland. While there were many great aspects of the trip, Fraz enjoyed the dining experiences of trying to eat thick mozzarella cheese at the bottom of garlic soup and never turning away a team member's leftovers.
"I was notorious for finishing off other people's plates during lunch and dinner," Fraz said.
One day, when the team was staying in a small Polish town called Sandomierz, they were served Swedish meatballs and french fries for lunch. Fraz noted how lunch is usually a bigger meal than dinner since they serve soup before the main course.
The trip leader, Assistant Professor of Accounting Eric Hernandez, had brought his own hot sauce and cajun seasoning with him, and Fraz noticed Hernandez's daughter Isabel putting the hot sauce on her french fries.
She offered some to Fraz, and said, "You know, you should give it a shot."
At first, Fraz declined, but then he decided to try the sauce called "Slap Yo Mama."
He dipped the end of a french fry into the sauce, but it didn't seem the least bit hot. So, he took a second fry and put more of the sauce on it. There was a small kick, but it was still bearable.
A third fry, fully immersed in the sauce, however, brought intense stomach cramps.
"I could feel all sorts of, like, cramps," Fraz said. "Almost like there was an electric shock in there."
The pain only subsided following a few hours and mass amounts of milk and Tums.
Fraz noted this was one of the times when he both regretted and didn't regret what he did in the moment. In the end, although his stomach paid the price, he decided it was worth it.
"But at the same time, never put too much hot sauce on your fries," Fraz said. "The Slap Yo Mama will slap you back."
Fraz's ever-present mentality, evident in how he approached meals in Poland, also shows in how he has approached life at Taylor the last four years.
Although he admitted he is not quite ready to leave this place and is still figuring out the best way to spend his last days on campus, he has advice for underclassmen:
On how to make the most of their college careers, Fraz hopes they can anticipate both challenging academics and a growing faith. He said as we get to know the Bible, we can ultimately learn more about God and form a stronger relationship with him - even though it can be hard to accept sometimes.
We should also be sure to live for the moment and invest in what Taylor has to offer.
"Also, definitely take the time to, you know, have fun and go to sporting events," Fraz said. "Don't just waste your time staying in your dorm; be able to have to have those fun times as a way of participating in community."
Fraz truly understands community. The only geography major at Taylor, Fraz will leave behind his unique legacy of the fist bump and the way it truly contributed to our intentional community when he graduates on May 19.
Where do you see the value in sharing stories?
"I think the value in sharing stories, whether it's just a comical story or maybe like a testimony of like how one accepted Jesus into their hearts, it's an opportunity to express ourselves and maybe even, like, either show vulnerability or just share something that gave you such joy - and being able to not only share that with others but just keep spreading that joy wherever you go." - Adam Fraz
