Hello again! This past weekend was Fall break (it was kind of just the weekend plus a Monday off but a break is a break I suppose) and I had the opportunity to go home for a few days. Fall break always seems to come at the best time. It's right after you've submitted your first papers and have fully adjusted to your new routine for the semester. I remember going home for Fall break for the first time when I was a first year. It was always exciting to make plans with your friends from high school and get your mom to cook you all of your favorite foods (thanks mom for making me eggs every morning this time) but at the same time fall break at home can seem weird. For me I remember that it felt like time in my hometown had stopped yet my friends and I had been living these other lives at our respective schools. It was great catching up with them but it was also a little awkward because you all had new friends and different stories to share. As a first year I took the adjustment to college pretty hard and was very homesick for all of September but ultimately at the end of Fall break I couldn't wait to go back to Wellesley because I knew that's where I belonged.
For Fall break my second year, my friends from school decided to go up to Maine for the Fryeburg Fair. Though I had never met a person from Maine before I somehow managed to wind up with three good friends from Maine at Wellesley: Hilary, Amelia M, and Amelia N. We all took the bus up to Portland and Hilary's parents generously picked us up and brought us to their nearby lake house. We stayed up late into the night feasting on non-dining hall food, playing Apples to Apples and just talking. The next day we went to the Fryeburg Fair to see all of the animals, crafts and to eat more delicious food. It was so much fun! We even went apple picking which is a New England tradition for fall. It was so nice to get to hang out with my Wellesley friends outside of Wellesley and to see where a majority of them were from. If it wasn't for Wellesley I probably would have never made it to Maine or the Fryeburg Fair. You never know who you're going to meet up here…
A break doesn't need to be a trip to Maine, however. This brings me to tip number 2 for coping with stress: Put down the book and walk around campus. Wellesley has one of the most beautiful campuses in America. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., the son of the landscaping genius who designed Central Park. This guy knew what he was doing. The campus is truly designed for you to enjoy it. Take a walk around the lake, have a picnic in Munger Meadow or look at the variety of trees in the arboretum. Find your own hidden spots on campus that make you happy.
My favorite spot of the week is a garden that I discovered one afternoon my first year when I wasn't having the best day. I remember sitting on the bench here and having an in depth phone conversation with my sister about what was bothering me. Suddenly I looked up and realized two things: how lucky I was to have the opportunity to go to college and how lucky I was to be here at Wellesley. I like to call this the Shakespeare Garden. You'll see why next week!