Freshman Hall

On one of the first nights of my college experience, my freshman hall and I dressed in all black. We wore camouflage bandanas and running shoes. Then, under the cover of darkness, we moved into Colonial Williamsburg. No, we weren’t going to rob a bank or anything serious. Rather, we were getting ready to perform part of one of the biggest traditions at William and Mary: the triathlon.

The W&M triathlon is a non-college sanctioned tradition here on campus. It is composed of three parts, but one of those parts consists of jumping the wall at the governor’s mansion in Colonial Williamsburg. Now, I’m not going to delve too much into that night, but be assured that my hall did not get caught doing anything illegal.

This is just one example of how close-knit freshman halls are here at W&M. The people on your freshman hall are the first people you meet when you come to William and Mary. They are the first people you get to know really well; you go to your first college party with them.  However, at some point, even after you branch out and become involved in different activities, you remain friends with the people on your hall. You might not be as close as you were at the beginning of the year, but they are more than just people you share a bathroom with—they are your hallmates, your friends.

Someone once told me that at William and Mary, the roommate selection form is not just used to pick your roommate, but it is used to pair you with your entire freshman hall. Even if this isn’t instantly apparent, as we have grown as a hall, it is evident that we have been purposely matched as a hall. I couldn’t imagine living with a better group of girls. I know that our friendships will continue past our time on Yates Hall. Some of us are closer than others, but I love all of the girls I live with.