Reflections of a Post-Graduate

As a new student at Exeter this year, I imagined a community far different from reality. Envisioning an elitist, preppy and pretentious culture, I was surprised to walk into my first class, English 505 with Ms. Marshall, and see a “What Would Beyoncé Do?” plaque sitting on her desk. After finding our seats, someone in the class asked the time-honored question, “What did you do this summer?” Expecting to hear about African safaris and trips to Europe, I was taken aback when my classmates recounted time spent in their hometowns, internships and summer jobs like ice-cream scooping and lifeguard duties. Going around the room, people asked questions with genuine interest, and the class felt intimate within minutes. When it was my turn to share, my classmates were eager to hear my story. These were not the self-centered students I had envisioned.While I have loved sleep-ins, weekly laundry services and buffet-style meals, there are aspects of my experience that make me miss my home life. Faulty bathroom pipes, crowded showers and other substandard plumbing robs one of an otherwise pleasant experience of a dorm with over 40 boys. With every shower, I longed for my own shower head—a comfortable flow, the temperature just right. Moreover, there are times in which I miss the quiet of my house. On the weekends, my roommate often plays online video games with his friends from Italy. As tensions rise in their game, so too does the volume of chatter. My roommate once got so excited that he stood up from his desk chair and howled some profanities in Italian, which I did not understand. In Rome, it was 2 p.m.—by no means an inappropriate time for loud noises. However, in eastern standard time, it was 8:00 a.m. Being someone who catches up on sleep over the weekend, my roommate’s early morning enthusiasms with friends leave a slight dent in an otherwise strong friendship.Despite a wholly positive first month at PEA, there are a few subtleties about living with my parents that I miss. I yearn for Sundays, when the smell of my mother’s freshly baked chocolate chip cookies wafts throughout the house and into the room where my father and I anxiously watch Patriots games. During the week, my parents would make dinner for my sister and me. As we ate, we would rehash our days while watching a television show. In these moments, I felt connected with my family. With their backing, daily struggles seemed less weighty. Yet, I long most for my puppy, a black cockapoo named Lola. One cannot find a substitute for the tail-wagging, face-licking greeting of a dog when arriving home. At PEA, I keep in touch with my family via text messages, but I feel a separation that most day students aren’t experiencing. Downtown Exeter is a quaint town with several nice restaurants, but I long for Boston. I am from Cambridge, and the city lies right across the "muddy water"—the Charles River. Boston is often pitted against New York City, offering a cozier aesthetic in contrast to New York’s gritty intensity. I was proud to be a Bostonian last Tuesday night when the Red Sox proved victorious over the Yankees. When the team wins, people can feel the spirit of Boston as they walk into school or work the next day. At my old school, everyone would wear Red Sox apparel the day of a big game. Indeed, during the team’s world series victory in 2013, I rotated between wearing a tattered David Ortiz jersey and a faded navy blue Dustin Pedroia T-shirt to school every day for two weeks. As the team advances to the next round, I will watch every game, knowing that even though I am away from home, the spirit of Boston lives inside of me. As I immerse myself in the diverse Exonian community over the next year, I will remember the minute parts of life at home that I took for granted. Even so, each time I return home for break, I will miss my independence and the dorm culture at PEA.