Gloria Steinem, class of 1956 -- can’t believe I’m about to belong to the same Alumnae Association as this icon! Gloria was here today participating in a couple events on the eve of receiving her Rally Day medal. At a q&a in the Campus Center, students asked great questions about activism and intersectionality, as well as some about her time at Smith. I asked her about where she gets her news and information these days, when it’s hard to find reliable and trustworthy sources. Her answer? The New York Times, the Guardian, and the Women’s Media Center, especially Robin Morgan’s blog, which she called incredibly smart. 

My favorite books I’ve found while looking for other books in Neilson.

Bless the rock wall’s open climbing hours -- Aliza just got belay certified so now we can go all the time! I did a really hard climb I never tried before when we went on Tuesday and it felt so good. The rock wall is right in the gym and it’s open to everyone, even if you’ve never climbed before!

It’s totally normal to come home and find your room full of first years, right? I’m glad my buds feel at home enough to hang in my room and work!

Since I’m not busy enough this semester, I’m trying to charter an org! The Smith Zine Club will hopefully be getting off the ground very soon, since there’s a lot of interest in it -- I had an interest meeting last weekend and almost 30 people came! We sat on Chapin Lawn and talked about zines and I passed around my collection of zines I’ve made and bought. I even had a little zine for everyone who came about zines (so meta).

What are zines? They're handmade magaZINES that can be about anything you want -- poetry, a cause you care about, art, feelings, thoughts, a significant event, lists, food, mental health, music, reactions to TV shows, prose, things you think suck, politics, feminism, funny things your friends said, travels, compilations of things you think are pretty, ANYTHING! One of our goals is to teach those without experience all about zines and how to make them -- it's really easy to get started, and once we're chartered, we'll provide the materials to make them and hold workshops and provide a free creative space. I’m so excited to get started!

I’m a member of the Gold Key Central Board, which is the governing body for our volunteer tour guide association -- if you’ve ever been on a tour or stayed overnight, it was most likely with a Gold Key! I’m the Head of Tours, so I handle the tour schedule and helping guides navigate large tours, tough questions, keeping their facts and figures about Smith updated, etc. 

We held our Fall Kickoff the first weekend of the semester, and fed our guides cheese and chocolate fondue, and handed out this semester’s swag: notebooks! If you look closely, you’ll see their embossed with our logo. We’ve done water bottles, mugs, t-shirts, but I think my favorite GK swag is my tote bag -- I use it all the time! We used the time to review procedures, the library re-imagining, and signing up for tour times and overnights. My official tour time for the semester is Tuesday at 10:00, but I am always around and filling in, so say hi if you come for a tour!

During my first Woodstar trip of the semester I wasn’t to camp out and study like I usually would, but I did get to pick out goodies for Senior Interviewers working last Saturday -- getting to pick out the treats gave me an odd sense of power, since if I ever indulge it’s usually just one thing! The muffins, scones, and croissants were a hit and we powered through tours, interviews, and info sessions!

When my mom snapped the photo on the left after she picked me up from the bus stop on my first day of kindergarten, and my friend Sarah took the one on the right before I got on the bus to go to my first class of senior year (a day earlier than the rest of Smith, since the class is at Mount Holyoke). I wasn’t feeling that old until I realize the first photo was taken before some current Smithies were born...

It’s been a while since I got to celebrate my birthday in Northampton! I came back to Smith a little early just so I could get together with my friends to celebrate turning 22. 

Quincy and I rode bikes out to a lighthouse to see the sunrise, and then prepared to drive down to Massachusetts with her dad, John, armed with sweet and savory hand pies for the drive. I wore my flower crown, which Quincy made for me for my birthday, all day and received as many compliments as weird looks. 

After dragging our stuff up to the fourth floor, we stopped at Herrell’s with Katie and Aliza then took a nice nap so we could gear up to go out. Susan, who graduated last year, even drove out from Boston so we could hit the town together. About ten of my friends met us at the Brewery for dinner, and we migrated to Mama Iguana’s, Tunnel Bar, and finally the Basement. I wasn’t sure about the Basement, but I’m so into it now -- it’s a divey little dance bar super close to Baldwin on Center Street and on Saturday there’s no cover for Motown Night! I’ve been every Saturday since. 

"Getting lost is how we learn."

I told this when my first year friend, Larissa (<333) texted me saying she literally got lost on her way home yesterday, but I think it’s a good way to think about a lot of things in life. Trying a class and finding out you hate the subject? Not a waste of time. Spending the summer doing an internship you thought you’d love, only to find out the field isn’t for you? The opposite of a waste of time. Finding out where you don’t want to go, where you don’t want to be is just as important as finding where you want to be -- which also so often happens when we get lost. I picked a random topic for a final paper my sophomore year, and now it’s my thesis. I needed a job after first year, so I went to work for at a camp, convinced that it would be okay, but wanting the summer to be over as fast as possible so I could go back to school -- and it ended up being the best summer of my life. It’s okay to pick the “wrong” major or be with someone who isn’t right for you -- you’re one step closer to finding what you want, and what’s good for you.

Just like last night in Hubbard, I ate an entire cupcake before telling Quincy I didn’t like it very much and I didn’t want to eat the second one on my plate. “Well that’s a waste,” she told me. 

“Is it though? I feel like I really learned something about myself from that experience,” I told her. Because yeah, I learned that I don’t like chocolate frosting as much as I thought I did.

More updates on the first two weeks of Smith soon! Just wanted to throw this nugget at ya’ll for the weekend. Hope you’re all doing well! <3

Smith has traditions upon traditions, but there’s a couple that you sort of gloss over until you’re a senior, or that gain more meaning once you reach that final year -- and many of these traditions involve hats. Convocation, which is coming up next week, is the official beginning of the school year when everyone gathers in John M. Greene Hall to celebrate with speeches and themed outfits (hence all the house’s themes). Seniors are traditionally the only ones to wear hats, and for my birthday this year, Quincy made me the most beautiful flower crown that I plan on wearing to Convocation, and in February, to Rally Day (when seniors wear their graduation robes for the first time, but paired with creative hats rather than mortar boards). I helped pick out the flowers and greenery, but Quincy did such a lovely job that I’ve barely taken off the crown since she finished (I may or may not be wearing it right now...). Though Convocation and Rally Day are the main events for senior hats, I plan on wearing my flower crown every chance I get! Stay tuned for photos of the finished product :)

Some of my favorite shots from our trip to Burlington and Waterbury, VT! We started with a bike trip from Burlington to Grand Isle (I loved the causeway bike path over Lake Champlain) and spent the better part of a week in a house with an AMAZING view with Quincy’s dad’s side of the family. Bowling, a contra dance in Burlington, and watching the sunset over the gorgeous mountains were some of the week’s highlights. New England’s beauty never ceases to amaze me!

Last fall, Quincy told me all the time about the contra dances she went to with other Smithies in Amherst and it sounded so fun, so we’ve been going in Portland! I’ve been contra dancing three times now and I’m super into it -- and I’m surprisingly good at it. When we first watched videos of it, my first reaction was, “Well this looks like something I would be supremely bad at,” but I surprised myself and others. The second time we went, while we were in Burlington, VT, I received several compliments (enough that I stopped thinking people were telling me I’m a good dancer just to be polite).

I’m ready to contra it up in Amherst, every Wednesday night this fall!

I started a birthday tradition for myself a few years ago while I was at Smith - go for a run/bike ride and watch the sunrise in a really good spot. This year, Quincy and I rode bikes to Spring Point and watched a beautiful sunrise behind Peaks Island. A great way to start my 22nd year -- and even better, now I'm off to Smith!