Charter Day (It’s So Good to Be Back)

As a second semester senior without a finalized plan for what I’ll be doing after graduation, it’s all too easy to let all the worries — about jobs, graduate school, what you’ll do when you no longer qualify for your parents’ health insurance — become overwhelming. This last week has been like that for me. I’ve been driving myself crazy and into constant panic attacks just thinking about my lack of a plan. “I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. I can’t hang out with people. I have to figure something out. I have to apply to 28430984 jobs before bedtime.”

Whew. I’ve been exhausted. And cranky.

So thank you, William and Mary, for reminding me, in just one Saturday, of what this place means to me, how fortunate I am to be at the College and how much I would regret worrying away my last weeks here.

Let’s begin…

9:30 a.m.

Today was Charter Day. This February marks 316 years since a royal charter was granted to establish The College of William and Mary. President Reveley remarked that “Precious few other colleges or universities set aside a day each year to celebrate the details of their births. Certainly, no other college or university celebrates by reading a royal charter from the late 17th century. Indeed, among the thousands of colleges and universities in America, virtually none but William and Mary have a royal charter to read,” and it really is remarkable.

Part of the charter reads, And further we will, and for us, our heirs and successors, by these presents do grant, That when the said college shall be erected, made, founded, and established, it shall be called and denominated forever, The College of William and Mary. And here we are, 2009, a year that certainly would have seemed “forever-away” from King William and Queen Mary. Wow.

Sandra Day O’Connor, Chancellor of the College, attended and spoke at the celebration too. She cracked jokes at the glitzy green robe she had to wear, and she even poked fun at Senator Jim Webb.  Glenn D. Lowry was also one of the honorees of the day. Years ago he was the founding director of the Muscarelle Museum of Art (our on-campus art museum), and now he’s the director of the MoMA in New York City. Wow again.

Sitting in the front of the auditorium with fellow seniors, wearing the very gowns we’ll be using for Commencement in a few months, I couldn’t stop thinking about what an incredibly unique place this is. Just thinking about the gathering of people in that room — former Supreme Court Justices, senators, college presidents, MoMA directors, professors, 22 year-old seniors about to graduate — made me ask myself over and over again, “At what other schools could this actually happen?” Not very many, I think.

1:30 p.m.

I walked over to the top of D.o.G. Street (Duke of Gloucester Street for those of you not up to speed on our WM lingo) and met up with Lindsey, a close friend of mine who graduated last year and is in town for the weekend. It was soooo nice to catch up! I also have another close friend coming in town next weekend. Seeing alumni come back so frequently is great. For one, it reminds me that the William and Mary community really does extend beyond this campus, and just because I don’t see them in class or at the dining halls anymore, it doesn’t mean they’re any less a part of the College. And secondly, alum visits show me how much I’m going to miss the ‘burg next year, so they remind me to appreciate every second I’m still here.

approximately 1:36 p.m.

We strolled over to Aroma’s for cookies, and who’s hanging out in front of our small, beloved coffee shop? Sandra Day O’Connor! Yep, just hanging out, enjoying the weather and never once saying no to tourists who wanted to get a photo with her. Seriously, imagine it, Sandra Day O’Connor just walking down the street two feet in front of us. 🙂

approximately 1:40 p.m.

Limeade from Retro’s! I think I wrote about my love affair with Retro’s Limeade in another blog, so I won’t bore you again, but, it’s fantastic.

4:00 p.m.-ish

I stopped at the Sunken Gardens to return a phone call from my mom and enjoy the amazing weather we are having this weekend (see: February in Virginia and a high of 65 degrees!). The Sunken Gardens were packed with at least 100 students playing and relaxing on the lawn. My OA babies were even out there playing their traditional chairball game — a new sport they’ve brought to W&M. Be on the lookout, ESPN! It really is one of my favorite things to look at the Sunken Gardens when it’s full of people. It’s just so college-y. 🙂

So, in conclusion, what a perfect day today was to get me out of my bad mood funk and back into being all sappy and sentimental about William and Mary. I love it. 🙂

And alright, this is a long enough blog. Thanks for making it all the way through if you’re still with me. I’ve been slacking on the blogs, but I’m determined to improve. Tom and Beth are on a roll, and I’ve gotta catch up!