Hello readers!
Man, the weather is wacky out here. My parents and I drove out to Wellesley two days ago (special treat—I usually fly), and though it might be a higher temperature in Minnesota, the humidity here is crazy! Yesterday, when most of the upperclasswomen were moving in, it was thunderstorming like there was no tomorrow, with intermittent breaks for light showers. Now it’s all settled into a deadening mugginess :).
But I’m getting ahead of myself :). My parents and I drove into Boston on Thursday night, so on Friday I was able to give my Grand Boston Tour (I’ve given it now three times. Tour-ees have even thought I was a local!) and introduce my parents to two families who have been very kind to me since I arrived at Wellesley two years ago. Tiffany’s mother has been taking care of me like I was her daughter, and Rachel—my aunt’s husband’s brother’s wife—(did you know there’s a word in Chinese for that? I only got the relationship straight a few months ago. Family is family :))—has been wonderful, taking me out to meals once a semester, storing my stuff, taking swim lessons… These are two families to whom I owe a great deal, and I didn’t know of either of them before I came! It makes me so thankful that I came to Wellesley :).
Saturday morning I bid au revoir to my parents, then took off to Boston again with some friends from the swim team. Sadly, I neglected to take a picture (which is quite irresponsible of me, really. I can only blame the fact that I am mourning the dearth of mandatory dimsum pictures, and must actively remind myself to take photos). However, we had a great time, and I loved meeting some of team’s new first-years. Erin and I took Leah, Sarah, Jen, Sarah’s roommate, and Hannah out to bubble tea, pineapple buns, cannolis, and Haymarket— and I grilled them about their schedules as we snacked :). As always, I was reminded of how responsible and ambitious Wellesley students are—these girls know what they’re doing, and I only could offer little bits of advice. Before I went home for the summer, this was my expectation of students… but now I’m realizing just how unusual and special it is to have first-years so prepared.
If I was impressed by the newest members of our community, I was blown away by the older students’ Let Me Speak performance yesterday. I write about Let Me Speak every year, because I find it to be Wellesley most powerful and inspirational performance. Eight students apply for and are selected to perform monologues in front of the first-years (and everyone else who can squeeze in), in the hopes that by sharing the challenges they have faced and are facing, students who are touched will know they are not alone. Transexuality, physical disability, depression, abuse, poverty, alcoholism, culture clash—all of these are topics that aren’t spoken about in daily conversation, yet during Let Me Speak, these students come forth and share, with a full auditorium, the hardest parts of their lives. When I hear something that means something—that is important, that resonates—my skin feels like it’s shivering, and I shivered throughout that entire performance. People were crying. The performers needed moments to gather themselves. And in those moments, the waves of clapping rose up, cheering them on—Wellesley’s favorite words are “safe space,” and I cannot imagine a crowd more supportive.
The fact that Wellesley is so supportive— not academically, but as an entire community, supportive of differences and personal challenges that will always be faced—is something I don’t often talk about here. Not because I don’t believe it is incredibly important and one of Wellesley’s most valuable strengths, but because I’m not often aware of it consciously. I chose to come here because I loved the environment—I felt safe from the beginning, and I have been encouraged and aided in everything that I do. But I haven’t suffered—I haven’t experienced anything that would merit therapy, and I have never experienced what the students on the stage had experienced. One of those students said that the reason he had come to Wellesley was because of this space—to give him room and shelter to grow into the man he is today. Another talked about how at Wellesley she had finally been granted access to therapy that she needed—and that it was hard to convince herself that she wasn’t weak to need it, but now she has such a better outlook on her future. Not to say Wellesley is without its problems; a third spoke about how hard it is to combat the expectation that Wellesley students are perfect, when she isn’t. But that same student joined and is pushing forward the Disability Club at Wellesley, and performed on the Let Me Speak stage to tell other first years that they are not alone, and “it is okay to be broken.”
I cannot express how strong these students are. And to a one, they say the reason they performed for Let Me Speak was so that students, sitting in the chairs that sat in one, two, or three years ago, will know that they are not alone, that they have made the right choice, and that they are safe.
I don’t have these experiences, but others do. If you’d like to be put in contact with one of these students to talk about how Wellesley has shaped their experience, please just shoot me a message—I’ll email you personally as soon as you comment.
That’s all have I time for, readers :). School starts tomorrow, so I’ll let you know how that goes—and also what day of the week I’ll be posting! Hope you have a great Labor Day, and best to you all!
Monica
ps, I will now be posting on Fridays!
Swim team at Let Me Speak! Half of us are student leaders– Theresa, Annie, Erin, Keelin, and Tiffany.
Swim team continued! Misha, Gabby, Erin, and Emma.