Happy Halloween! With it being a Monday, and most of the festivities happening over the weekend, it already feels like Halloween has passed, so much so that I wondered why someone wearing a creepy skull mask and flowing black robes waved to me on my way to class this morning. And then I remembered, oh, it’s still Halloween, which was a strange observation to have for a holiday, which never seem to last as long as I wish they would.
For the first time in my college years, I actually dressed up and went to a Halloween party at Harvard (photographic evidence of the costume, not the party, which I promise was real, below). I was a flapper, which was basically my wardrobe with the addition of a black feather boa that left a trail of feathers on the dance floor. It was (far) too nice for the party in question, but it was also unquestionably me. I loved that costume, so much seriously considered converting to an everyday flapper aesthetic. But, I realized that sequins are itchy and sweaters are warm, and so I’ve reluctantly stored my 1920s ambitions away for another day.
actual photographic evidence of my costume
Let me tell you about the day I bought my black feather boa, because WOW was that day a wild ride. Last Thursday, we had classes off for the Tanner Conference. Tanner is this campus-wide conference where, in my experience, you go and listen to your peers knock your socks off with the level of the work they’ve done over the summer. This is a very Wellesley thing.
Now, this Tanner I may not have had class, but I still had chamber music rehearsal, and so I hauled my groggy self out of bed and walked, sans coffee, over to the music center. I paused in the hallway to check my e-mail before rehearsal, and this strange message came up. It was the Royal Danish Academy of Music, you know the place where I applied to study violin while abroad. Instantly, my heart popped into my throat, or the epinephrine receptors started receiving ligand, whatever you prefer. I have a special talent of identifying rejection words immediately in e-mails for things I’ve applied to, but this time, the word “congratulations” popped out at me. You guys. I’m studying violin at the Royal Danish Academy of Music next semester.
I was really distracted during rehearsal, because all I could think about was Copenhagen. And then I went to my friend Mackenzie’s Tanner presentation on her experience working in hospitals in Qatar, which was inspiring and fascinating as predicted. After which I got a high five from my advisor when he heard the news. And then I tried to do my statistics problem set, but all I could think about was Copenhagen. So I gave up, and we went to the Halloween super store, where I bought my black feather boa and cringed with friends at culturally appropriative costumes.
We were in a good mood, Mackenzie and I, and so we did a very college thing. We drove through the rain past the strip malls to look at cats in the nearest pet store. We spent a good fifteen minutes staring at and imagining lives with these cats, and then we had a nice conversation with a macaw until it screamed at us in a volume I didn’t know macaw lungs could produce, which we took as our cue to leave.
they have a kitten cam, guys
Hungry, we set off for copious quantities of cheesy garlic bread and tortellini with pesto to go and this Italian place I’d never been to. Driving back through the cold rain running down the windshield, full of bread, with the still-hot tortellini warming my lap, I thought about Copenhagen, but also about Wellesley, and how I’m so lucky to have friends to share moments like these with.
Ever lovely yours,
Eleanor