Eating My Feelings

January 29, 2008:  I was sitting on a couch in the Monroe 2^nd floor study lounge studiously getting my reading done for the next day’s class discussion.  Okay, that’s probably an exaggeration of my academic dedication.  I was realistically either on Facebook or watching a Shakira music video on Youtube.  Feel free to picture me as the studious kid who would be studying at 5PM on a Tuesday night if that’s what you’re looking for.  Anyway, to my surprise two of my good friends burst into the room carrying a giant platter of brownies with what appeared to be the least evenly done frosting job I’d ever seen.  Upon close inspection, the brownies had different emotions written on them in an icing scrawl.  Sadness. Anger. Happiness.  Ambivalence.

They were poking fun at me for saying that I always eat my feelings as a birthday gift.  Best present ever?  It’s possible.

It’s little things like this that I will always remember about the Tribe.  As fond as my memories are of Convocation, Yule Log, and Commencement, nothing will beat the memories of inhaling a Frustration brownie with two people who care enough about me to get me to laugh at myself.  I don’t need to hire the Griffin to traipse around my dorm room to feel Tribe Pride.  I’m proud to be a member of this community every time that I see one of my friends succeed, every time that I see a genuine smile on a classmate’s face, and every time that I get to see someone following his/her/hir passions.

I know.  It’s cheesy.  It’s cliché.  It’s probably romanticized.  The important thing is that it feels completely real when I think about my experience at the college.  I love giving tours, because I want for people to be able to experience even a small part of the amazing adventures I’ve had at the college.  I want to be there for people who are just now learning what it means to be a member of a historical family.  I want for other people to have their ears flush with excitement and love for this institution the same way that mine do when they talk about W&M to strangers.

I’m graduating in less than a year, and I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself when I finally have to leave.  Until then however I’ll be icing my brownies with joy and appreciation for the experiences I’ve had and will continue to have at W&M.