Coming Home

This past weekend was Homecoming at the College, and while the main events may have included the parade, a giant bonfire, the big football game against Rhode Island, the concert at Matoaka, billions of luncheons and a cappella performances and worse parking than ever, the coolest part about experiencing Homecoming as an undergrad is seeing what you have to look forward to as an alum.

For undergraduates, I’ll be honest, Homecoming can sometimes seem a little overrated. As a freshman and sophomore, you may not even know any of the alumni coming back to campus. By junior year I had friends coming back (and I was old enough to finally join them at the delis!), so Homecoming actually became more than just another weekend. Senior year it hits you though: tons of your best friends are back on campus. People you just got used to not seeing on campus are returning, and it’s this weird weekend where it sort of feels like old times – except the conversations are now all “So how’s your new job?” “What’s it like living in ____?” “What am I doing next year? Oh who knows?”

Having those friends return serves as a huge slap in the face as to how much you’re going to miss this place a year from now. All weekend long I heard stories of people flying in from across the country just for 48 hours in Wiliamsburg. Undergrads were paying for paying to fly alums back in. My alum friend who stayed with me for the weekend said she probably cried 4 times Sunday during various goodbyes.

So while the weekend can be a crazy jumble of making sure you see every friend who’s back in town and of having to wait in line for 2 frustrating hours outside the Leafe because the older alums have taken over the delis every night, the realization that in roughly 365 days I’m going to drop my entire life to come back to these brick pathways and these people is a pretty cool feeling.

I have no idea where I’ll be in a year, but from watching the experiences of my recent grad friends this weekend, I know that come Homecoming weekend, William and Mary is the only place I’ll want to be.

Carrie Daut, Class of 2009
Senior Tour Guide