“The memories you make abroad are the ones that will last a lifetime.” I’d be willing to bet that nearly everyone studying abroad has heard this sentiment in some form or another. Whether it was older cousins telling stories about their semesters in Italy or professors wishing me luck on my semester away, the idea that my travels would take up permanent residence in my memory was drilled into my conscience before I even left Boston.
If you hear cackling on the “million-dollar stairs” every Thursday at 1:15 p.m, I apologize for the inconvenience my friends and I may be causing. In a rare occurrence, all our schedules have aligned, affording us the opportunity to all walk to class hand in hand. These walks are quite hilarious—for us, anyway. My friends tend to say the most outrageous things at the most inappropriate times, and this walk is no exception.
My playlists are time capsules. Each one, chronologically sorted, takes me back to a specific moment in my life. Every song brings a flood of emotions and memories—an almost indescribable feeling of nostalgia mixed with deja vu. When I miss a person, place, or time of my life, all I have to do is find that one corresponding playlist and press play.
My best childhood memories are a patchwork of my time spent in Otis Wood Lands, a small community exploding with my family’s history. Over forty years ago, my grandfather and his brother each bought small cabins in Otis, a tiny town in rural Massachusetts.
As effective as my camouflage tactics were, two jarring words eventually reached my ears: “Where’s Jenny?” That simple phrase forced me to muster up just enough courage to allow myself to be hugged (though never hugging back), before seeking a new safe haven.
A scheme is a secret, systematic plan developed over an extended timeframe, aiming to create joy for others. It culminates in one giant “reveal” moment.
Whether I am critiquing, discussing, photographing, preparing, or passionately consuming it, I am unapologetically obsessed with food.
I fundamentally disagree with the idea of “finding” happiness. I believe you should make your own happiness, no matter where you are.
When you’re a freshman, everything is new, everything is exciting, and everything is a little bit scary. The laundry room is overwhelming. Canvas is confusing. Distractions (and emails) are everywhere. Just ask freshman year me.
Spring is bittersweet. It marks the end of our academic year and the last few weeks with college friends, but it also symbolizes the turning of a new chapter.
