Friday night, in the hallway on the fifth floor of Caz:
“Oh wow, it’s already 9:00.”
“Are you tired?”
“You look tired.”
And then, an hour later, “Oh wow, it’s already 10:00.” I dragged myself to my feet and looped my arms through my backpack straps. My friends Joy and Kana leaned over the banister and watched me go downstairs. There are a lot of stairs between the quad and the fifth floor.
I can’t sleep past 8:00 am when I’m on campus, so I love going to bed early on weekend nights and waking up refreshed. Reading until I fall asleep, then waking up at 7:00 after nine or ten hours of sleep is glorious.
But you know what’s also glorious? Spending five hours with friends on Friday night. It began on the quad, where I was lying on my blanket, editing athletic photos, and talking on the phone with my mom about taxes. First came Joy, then Kana. We brought dining hall dinner back to the quad. Two remote friends joined us on zoom. The sun went down. Caroline came and told us about dramatic eight-minute Vietnamese music videos. It got cold. The wind sent my empty bowl flying across the quad. When I caught up with it fifty feet away, my leftover food was nowhere to be found. (I hope the squirrels like dirty rice and lentils.) After that, I proposed a migration up to Joy and Kana’s hallway, where we spent another two hours chatting. Joy brought out her inflatable cow. Tootsie was interested.
Tootsie meets the cow
I trudged across the quad to Shafer, journaled, brushed my teeth, and got in bed. It was just after 10:30. Going to bed early? Nope. Having a blast, feeling loved, getting to know my friends better? Yes, yes, and yes.
The view from Waban Arches on my bike ride yesterday (it’s the Charles River!)