The Rise of the Amphibians<br />One thing that’s hit me over the head right away is how many young adults have interesting backgrounds — one is part French, part Costa Rican.<br />One binds people within communities and the other binds different communities together.<br />It would be excellent for America if that kind of leap became a rite of passage for young Americans — if young<br />adults from Waco were expected to spend a few years working in and exploring Burlington, and vice versa.<br />The thing you notice about Amphibians is that they come to regard their ability to<br />enter different cultures as a thrilling adventure, their defining life trait.<br />If you grew up in a Baptist home in Alabama and now are first-generation college at an Ivy<br />League school, your life is propelled by an electric, crosscutting cultural dynamic.<br />I’ve begun to recognize a social type, the Amphibians — people who can thrive in radically different environments.
