Last Wednesday, I sat in the quad playing a card game with my friend Anna. One week later, I write to you from my bed in California. What a week it has been. To be entirely honest, this week was the longest of my life. There were many tears and hard goodbyes, but I was also reminded over and over again why I love Wellesley and this community.
Early last week, colleges around the country began shutting down due to Covid-19 including peer institutions like Amherst and Smith. Wellesley students waited as almost all the schools in Boston announced closures. It felt like the entire campus was holding a collective breath waiting for an email to arrive in our inboxes. Finally, on Thursday, during my American Studies class, the email came. We would need to leave by the following Tuesday. Classes for the rest of the semester would be held entirely online.
The rest of Thursday was a whirlwind. My friends and I took a trip to Home Depot for storage boxes and packing tape. We began putting the lives we created at Wellesley into those boxes. My floor, which is all first years, packed collectively with our doors open, music blasting down the hallway.
The view of Lake Waban from Galen Stone Tower. I went up to hear my friend Ely play the bells and it was incredible
One of the things I adore about Wellesley is that seniors and first years (and everyone in between!) live together in the dorms. At many other colleges, first years are secluded in dorms that house only first years, but not at Wellesley. Seeing my senior friends have their final semester come to an abrupt halt was one of the hardest parts of the week. Almost overnight senior spring shortened into senior Saturday. The Class of 2020 rallied and hosted their own faux commencement. We camped out early Saturday morning for my new favorite Wellesley tradition, hooprolling! Seniors rolled hoops signed by past Wellesley students and the winner was thrown into Lake Waban. I cried watching the Shafer Hall seniors roll their hoops past me and thanked them for their guidance. It was truly incredible to see how Wellesley came together to support our seniors.
Shafer first years and Shafer seniors!
Friday night, I stayed up late talking with friends in the hallway. We cried together. We shared our hopes and fears. We voiced our appreciation for Wellesley. At no other college would alums offer their homes to complete strangers. At no other college would students and dining hall staff cry together while saying goodbye. This place is special. People care. I didn’t fully realize that I would be part of such a unique community when I said yes to Wellesley. But I know now.
My empty room and the friends who helped me pack it all up
Last night I flew home and this morning I woke up with absolutely nothing on my usually full to-do list. Online classes will start on March 30th and I’m honestly not sure what it will be like. In our last two days of in-person classes, my professors shared how they imagined our classes would look moving forward. With so much still up in the air though, by next week class plans could be entirely different! Don’t worry –– I’ll keep you updated with the changes and how I’m adjusting to online classes. Although this wasn’t how I hoped or planned the semester would go, Wellesley students are resilient, and I am confident in the strength of our community.
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