Alma Mater Hail

Last week something felt a little different around the College. There was a sense of excitement in the air, a growing anticipation that continued to build as the days passed. Students and faculty began looking forward to the weekend with even more impatience than usual, and the ever-present green and gold became even more ubiquitous. What could have stirred this level of animation and enthusiasm during a time of year usually reserved for long nights in the library and pot after pot of strong coffee? What could have increased Tribe Pride to an even higher intensity then usual? Nothing other than Homecoming 2010, a weekend filled with reunions, receptions, tailgates, and generally more free food than any other time of the year. Current students welcomed their alumni back to relive old memories and make new ones as the line at the Green Leafe wrapped around the block and photo ops on the Sadler Center Terrace seemed mandatory for nearly every group of passerby.

I admit it took me a little while to get excited about Homecoming. I was coming off of a week full of papers and exams, with more looming large on the other side of the festivities. To me Homecoming was just another weekend, albeit one with more events to attend and obligations to fulfill as I tried to balance all the alumni events for the different organizations with which I am involved. As Friday evening arrived, however, and I started to suddenly see faces around campus that I hadn’t seen in quite some time, I began to realize that whoever invented the idea of a homecoming celebration was quite smart indeed. Throughout the rest of the weekend I chauffeured graduated sisters in my sorority, sat for hours in Aromas catching up with friends who are now off braving “the real world,” and lamented the absence of those who couldn’t make it to Williamsburg physically. It was a whirlwind to say the least.

Writing this blog late on the Monday night following the festivities I am already nostalgic for the experience. I didn’t realize how much I had missed the alums until they were around me once more and it suddenly hit me on Sunday afternoon that I will have to wait another whole year to have this experience again. Sure, alums who live in the area or even as far away as D.C. will pay this place a visit every so often but the full Homecoming atmosphere in all its glory will not be replicated for quite some time. Even more disturbing was the realization that I only have one more Homecoming as a “welcomer” before I join the ranks of the welcomed. This new awareness made me suddenly become much more conscious of how quickly my college experience is passing. All too soon I will have to buy a plane ticket or at least settle in for a long drive in order to see the sun set over the Wren Building rather than stepping outside my front door. All too soon I will be the one exclaiming over all the changes that have taken place since I last “came home” and reminiscing over “the good old days.” OK, so maybe I’m being a little too dramatic, but my sentiment is sincere. I love this place, and I want to make a point to treasure every last one of my remaining minutes here. They say you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone and I plan to appreciate everything W&M has to offer before I have to let it go. And on that note, I’m off to people-watch in the Sunken Gardens for a while. Care to join me?

Go Tribe.
Hark upon the gale.

Katie Clough
Class of 2012