In 2012, I had the day off from seventh grade because of Hurricane Sandy. It happened to be Tanner Tuesday, when Wellesley students present on their off-campus experiences, so my mom and I came to campus and spent the day popping in and out of conferences and eating a catered lunch.
And yet, it took me until my senior year to finally give a Tanner. After my semester in the Galapagos, I figured it was time. I talked about how my semester abroad related to journalism—I told my classmates I was just there for a good time, but I ended up making a podcast that won an honorable mention in NPR’s podcast challenge and realizing that eventually, I want to make podcasts about the conservation challenges I learned about. Presenting was fun! So was hearing what my classmates were up to this summer. I went to a talk about museum internships, even though I’m not a huge museum fan, but it was interesting to learn what goes on behind the scenes in art museums.
Pointing to the Galapagos on a map
Yesterday, I took Wellesley’s mall/movie/Target shuttle for the first time. I live so close that I usually call my mom when I need to run errands. But a friend and I wanted to go to REI, so we got off at Target. We walked fifteen minutes so I could drop off a box at FedEx and then went to get the van outside Barnes & Noble. The van was full. The next one wasn’t for two hours. I called my mom, and she drove me, my friend, and a first-year I’d just met back to campus. I thanked her with a dining hall dinner. It was my first time on the shuttle and probably my last. My mom turns out to be a much more reliable form of transportation than the Wellesley van.
And last night, I went to public night at the observatory for the first time! I waited in line for forty minutes to see a smudge in the sky 2,500 light years away. Seeing the observatory roof rotate was just as cool (it felt like I was moving!!!). I’m just glad I brought my Kindle.
Looking through the 12-inch telescope
Cheers to trying new things!