Ways to have fun this semester

By Sophie Carr ’21

We made it. What a spring break that was! Ten months longer than we had expected and here we are, back at our alma mater as if nothing ever happened. But what hasn’t happened?

Welcome back to good ole’ College Hill, where life feels a little brighter even when covered in mountains of snow. It seems to be the law of the universe, a mutual unspoken agreement between the different forces that when it rains, it pours. Nothing was subtle this year, and Mother Nature knew that this winter couldn’t possibly be treated like any other. She had to match this grand virus, leading us to yet another week of shoveling cars, building excessively large snowmen on the quad, and sledding down the hill behind old Pardee.

The world is in a different place now where college can’t quite look like college. It makes us reminisce longingly for the little interactions outside Farinon, passing through the Quad, the buzz of energy that usually fills the hill, and all the usual signs of community togetherness. However, just because we can’t see this unity in traditional ways doesn’t mean that it has disappeared. It has simply changed form. While it can seem easier to feel resistance to this change and focus on the negatives, there are so many opportunities for new experiences and new versions of college life that we get to create together. Embrace the time we have; we now understand how quickly it can come to an end.

Some of the very best moments in our time at Lafayette will take place this spring because for the first time, we have to actually think about what type of activities can be genuinely fun substitutions for the typical college life. Get ready to enter a whole new level of friendship with your roommates, far past the foundation that was built in previous years. Think outside the box to figure out what your most notable events will be, and plan one activity per week to have something to look forward to:

• Fill this year with Olympic Games-styled household competitions (steal some ideas from the Athletics Department)
• Host some of the greatest virtual card tournaments that College Hill has ever seen.
• Re-celebrate all of your favorite holidays that got lost throughout the year.
• Start planning scavenger hunts that safely create community between different groups of people to bridge the gap that our virtual world has created.
• Organize a dinner of international cuisines where you can take a trip around the world in your own dorms!
• Learn interesting new hobbies each week to teach to the rest of your household, and hop on the trend of creating ridiculous PowerPoints to present to your friend group, sparking nights of pure comedic relief.
• When the snow lets up, go explore the Arts Trail with a friend and share conversations that will bring you all the way from Easton to Tatamy.
• Create a list of all of the things you want to do before you leave the hill and find a safe way to do them! There is so much to do, so many new people to meet, and this is a chance for us to make this experience what we want it to be.

See how many days you can fill with pure enjoyment rather than reminiscing on what should have been. The options are truly endless, and while you may have to dig a little deeper, I guarantee that these memories will make spring ’21 a time you will never forget for the right reasons.