Last Friday was a good day. On Friday mornings, I would usually have French class – my only class of the day, but my professor had gone to France to visit her family, so class was canceled. Instead, I walked to the music library to take my self-scheduled biology exam. With the Honor Code, we are able to take our exams by ourselves. Though the exam itself was still a bit nerve-wracking, at least I wasn’t stuck in a room full of people who were just as nervous. It was an easy morning – not much is easy these days, so it was exceptionally calm. Wrapping up my exam, I walked over to the Lulu Campus Center to get COVID Tested, grabbing lunch on the way back to my dorm.
I had a quick 20-minute meeting with Jennifer Thomas-Stark from the Office of International Study to talk about my study abroad plans. I had been worried about my plans for a long time, but Ms. Stark immediately dispelled my worries. It felt nice to log off the meeting and feel a weight lifted off my shoulders after talking through my concerns like undoing a Gordian knot.
I quickly put on a blazer to log onto my remote internship, but turns out the Boston office was quiet that afternoon, so the interns were given the day off. I suddenly had 3.5 hours of free time, and the sun had just come out, so everything was lovely. These weeks had been especially stressful, but now with the long weekend, I didn’t have to worry about taking these 3.5 hours for myself just to relax. I called my mom, excited to tell her that I finally had time to take a walk. Then, I put my wallet and phone in a small backpack and walked to CVS and Roche Bros on Linden Street to pick up some groceries.
Apple Turnovers at Whole Foods
I listened to my favorite songs, walking quickly and enjoying the sun while it lasted. I even took a longer detour to Whole Foods to get the apple turnovers pictured here. My sister’s family loves these things – every time they go to Whole Foods they bring some back. I texted Grandpa (my sister’s husband’s father, called “grandpa” in front of my nephew) with this same picture of the apple turnovers, and he laughed, telling me that my sister had actually just bought a box of them back yesterday and the family had already finished them all. I also picked up some green grapes and mini chocolate croissants to share with my hall-mates and roommate.
After coming back from my walk, it was about 4 PM. I dawdled in my room for a bit before heading to Jewett to practice violin. I have no talent in violin whatsoever, but playing that one part in my piece that I know how to play well makes me feel happy every time I play it. Then, peering out the window of practice room 146, I saw my math professor sprinting to Lulu. It was a little funny – seeing his usually calm self in a hurry on my rare slow-paced day. Later, I grabbed dinner at Lulu and walked quickly back to my dorm – it was getting chilly. I passed out some chocolate croissants to my friends, watched some YouTube, did a bit of French homework, and wound down for the night with a book I’ve been meaning to finish.
I am so glad that we had a long weekend with President’s Day on Monday. It gave me much-needed breathing room to get my work done but also allow myself to go out and have some fun with my friends. My MUS201 class went to a Mozart and Bruckner Boston Symphony Orchestra concert on Saturday evening, and it made me so happy to experience that music with my friends in the class. We gasped at the parts where the floor shook with the force of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat, Romantic and leaned against each other at the sweet, twinkling parts of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 in G. We watched in amazement as the 94-year-old conductor Herbert Blomstedt contained these two grand pieces within his hands and from memory, without a baton and not once opening the score sitting on his stand.
As many here do, I often feel guilty for taking a break, watching some YouTube, unable to differentiate between procrastination and a break that I need. Being given a long weekend was a gift, because suddenly I had so much time, I didn’t need to choose between getting some rest or finishing my work. I will remember to carve free time into my schedule in the future and give myself more grace. 🙂