I’m astutely aware that my time at Wellesley is running out. In two weeks, much of the student body will be gone, and I’ll probably still be living in Shafer, studying in the art library, and complaining about dining hall food, trying to make the semester last before I go abroad in January.
With the end in sight, I’ve made a point to check in with professors whose classes I’ve taken in the past. On Monday, I chatted with my sociology professor from last spring about my incredible new running shoes (very orange) and my frustration with the abstractness of my women’s & gender studies classes. (She encouraged me to come back to sociology.) The next day, I told my intro to peace & justice studies professor how the things she said about Wellesley during my first semester make even more sense now. Her class on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict was the reason I took intro, and I thought I wasn’t going to get to take it since she’s teaching it while I’m abroad (and usually teaches it every other year), but it turns out she’s teaching it next fall too! That was good news.
I had an appointment with a research librarian on Wednesday to go over some citation questions for my Africana Studies paper. The research librarians are some of the best people on campus. They’re so helpful and way too fun. Sarah told me about a citation program called Zotero that has already changed my life. (I’m beginning work on another research paper, and I’m trying to see how far I can get without another Zoom with Sarah… we’ll see, but my guess is not very far…)
Friday morning, I trekked to Green Hall for office hours with President Johnson. I went once last year on Zoom, but it was so much cooler to be in her office, which gave major Knives Out vibes. Most students probably know her as the face of Wellesley and the name on all the school-wide emails, but she’s really kind and down-to-earth in real life. She gave me a hug when I told her my grandma had just died, and then she told me a story about her mom, and soon we were both pulling tissues out of the box on the coffee table. I think everyone should meet her before they graduate. It’s fun to get to know the adults on campus as real people. And I’m so grateful that she, and all the professors I’ve stayed in touch with, have my back.
Here I am painting a dreidel in front of a fake menorah while watching a Hannukah movie at French House on Friday night. It was the best night.
I went for a walk in town and found this amazing glassy lake.