The first week of classes felt unreal. This is it. The next adventure is already on the horizon.
Convocation, which occurred on Tuesday the first, set the tone of the year, this last hurrah. Convocation is a ceremony that both welcomes the incoming first years and propels the senior class onwards for one more year. It is concluded with step singing, something I’d never participated in before. Each class groups together on the steps of the amphitheater to sing a number of traditional Wellesley songs. The mood of the student body was jocular, but also present in gratitude to this institution for the times had and the times still yet to come. Of course, the seniors were a bit nostalgic.
Giovi, Dulce, and I walking in the convocation procession of seniors.
Afterwards, in the dining, my friends and I discussed what it meant to each of us to be a Wellesley student, soon to be a Wellesley graduate. I personally have begun to feel a growing and urgent need to give of myself to the next community I enter. College has been a time for personal growth, but now I am ready to place that focus and dedication on a project that is larger than myself. The college’s motto has never resonated with me more: Non Ministrari sed Ministrare. “Not to be ministered unto but to minister.”
A thought provoking first week was followed by a wonderful long weekend. A hometown friend who attends a nearby school came to visit me for the day on Saturday. We enjoyed a walk around the lake, watched the Wellesley field hockey and soccer teams win their home games, and enjoyed each other’s silly company over dinner. Sometimes all it takes is a few hours with the right friend to find peace in the chaos of the world.
On our walk we found a praying mantis!
This post is to peace!
Peace out, friends:)