Good morning blog!
I ended up going home this past weekend to see my sister in a tap recital. Monday was just a normal day of classes with mock trial e-board elections that night. To anybody who is interested in joining next year, you are currently looking at the external outreach chair (and sort of co-czar of first years) and I would love to answer any questions! If you can’t tell, I am way too excited about the mock trial next year. Tuesday classes were canceled for Rhulman, an annual conference where students give presentations about their research. I went to a couple of afternoon sessions: one art history presentation and the other about woman and gender studies. The art history session was way over my head. The speakers were brilliant and focused their projects on sapphic orientalism in 19th-century depictions of the harem and black female iconography in Jamaican history. The second session was much more my speed and focused on the breastfeeding gap and fatphobia in 2000s media. I am always blown away by just how talented my sibs are. I knew several people who gave Rhulmans this weekend, each of which was incredibly interesting and I know they put so much effort into it.
I wish I had more interesting things to tell you, but the campus has been pretty quiet for me the past couple of days. We are so close to the end of the semester that I can taste it- just a little bit over a week until we start finals. The crazy academic burnout, homesickness, and rising covid cases have pushed me over the edge. I am ready to be done now. Aside from catching dinner with a few friends safely away from the crowded dining halls, I have been limited from socializing as much as possible since covid numbers are rising. If we weren’t so close to the end, I might not be as content with keeping to myself. But we are really so close to the end and the safest option for me is to just keep my head down and finish out the year.
Logically, I know that I want to soak up these last few days of my first year at Wellesley. I know that I should be dancing around with joy, having picnics by the lake every day, and doing all the readings for my classes but I just can’t. I have loved so much of being at Wellesley but that doesn’t mean it has been easy. I am so ready for a break from the stress (both academic and emotional) of being here. Then again, I know I will be dying to come back after a couple of days without my friends or the stunning lake views.
So on the agenda this week: survival. I am just trying to stay on track and ride out the rest of the year as seamlessly as possible. I have a major Spanish presentation about that I am not at all stressed about (or that is what I keep telling myself, at least). We were given free reign to explore any aspect of Latin American culture we found interesting. My partner and I chose to look at various dance styles across Latin America and their connection to colonial resistance. I love talking about the research, but am not a very strong Spanish speaker. and am back home next weekend for my little sister’s birthday celebration. Next week is the start of the final presentations for my education class and our LDOC (last day of class) concert! SPOG has invited Audrey Nuna to campus for an end-of-the-year celebration.
With love,
Jessie