Today is a spectacular day. It is in the low 70s and sunny, and people’s spirits are high. I was walking on the south side of campus right around 11 am when classes were changing. There were tons of students sitting outdoors in the sun, in shorts and short sleeves or summery dresses. Lots of smiles. I saw one girl sitting on a ledge near an academic building, and she closed her eyes and turned her face up to the sun as if basking in it. She looked so happy.
I ran so long fangirling yesterday about Renee Elise Goldsberry that I did not have space to mention Letters So Dear. Yesterday, our first-year students heard some sage advice from an upperclasswoman who talked about some of the disorientation of second semester:
“I came into second semester refreshed from winter break and expected everything to be the same. I expected to have the same friends, spend the same amount of time doing homework, and get involved in the same activities I was interested in before the holidays. Many things did stay the same, which actually made them less exciting as the newness became routine. And many other things were different, which disappointed me and made me feel like I was missing something. All my friends started getting plugged into different clubs, so I saw certain people who I thought were close friends less often than I wanted and met other people in new places. The flux of my friend group felt disorienting. And my classes were harder.”
Fear not, the message goes on to talk about how much this is all a NORMAL part of college. You can read the full message here, and you can find the growing archive of past Letters So Dear here.
I hope this weather stays with us for a few days. Your Deacs are loving it, and so am I.
Today is a spectacular day. It is in the low 70s and sunny, and people’s spirits are high. I was walking on the south side of campus right around 11 am when classes were changing. There were tons of students sitting outdoors in the sun, in shorts and short sleeves or summery dresses. Lots of smiles. I saw one girl sitting on a ledge near an academic building, and she closed her eyes and turned her face up to the sun as if basking in it. She looked so happy.