Hello~!

This past week was EXHAUSTING, but maybe everybody’s first week back from spring break is exhausting. I think it’s just the difficulty of getting back into the swing of things after a heavenly, 7-day respite. It’s hard.

Sunday was Easter Sunday! I spent it with my adopted grandparents (family friends who are essentially grandparents to me), Jean and Richard, as well as Jean’s friend Judy, Judy’s nephew Brian, and Judy’s wonderful puppy, Jimmy Chew.

We all met up at Judy’s condo on Cape Cod, which is a super lovely little place! It was the first time Jean, Richard, and I had seen it, and it was absolutely delightful.

 

And then we went for a walk on the beach, which is privately owned by Judy and some other nearby residents:

 

^Isn’t that pretty? Not sure if it’s a lighthouse or just some looking-post…

And then we went to dinner! At the Coonamesset Inn. They had such beautiful decor and food. 🙂

 

^Left to right above: Jean, myself, Brian, Judy, and Richard

And then I took some goodbye selfies with Jimmy. <3

 

It was a wonderful Easter and a day very well spent with loved ones. 🙂

Earlier this week, I also took some lovely pictures of our greenhouse on campus during my horticulture lab. Aren’t these plants just gorgeous? I love the greenhouse. I absolutely love the beauty, warmth, and life it holds within.

<<This is a pomegranate I think?

Isn’t all that green just so soothing? (: Going into the greenhouse lowers my heart rate, I swear. Haha.

And finally, I’d like to end with a poem by Mary Oliver my Econ professor handed out to us on Friday. He hands out a poem every Friday. That’s a Wellesley professor for you. 🙂

 

This is what it says:

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice —
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do —
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Wow. I love that poem. Particularly because it’s relevant to something I’ve been talking about with one of my friends lately. Long story short, we both have the habit of investing more in others/friendships/relationships than we do ourselves, to a (one could argue) unhealthy degree. So when I saw this poem I just knew I had to send it to her. It is so pertinent to what we’ve spent many sleepless nights talking about.

Zoe, I love you and I hope we will both one day learn to prioritize ourselves first and foremost.

Until next week, everyone!

~Emily