5 
Tagsreuning
It’s hard to believe I just attended my 15th college reunion. Fifteen years?! How can I possibly have been out of college for so long. In so many ways it feels like just yesterday—but going back I realized just how long ago it was.
Campus is gorgeous year-round, but particularly in the spring, and boy did it put on a good show for those of us reuning. It was magical to be back. I felt so lucky to have been able to live there for four years and to be part of the legacy that it maintains. But I’ll admit it: it was incredibly weird to be there. I discovered that I had but a few close friends in undergrad (and all but one did not attend). Everyone tells you that one of the best things about going to a reunion is interacting with people you never knew as an undergrad, and that is absolutely true. But it was still weird, you know?
I dragged the friends I attended with (who have become close since graduation!) over campus to visit each of the four dorms I lived in. Back when I was there, it wasn’t very common to change dorms every year—you’d find your “home” and work to stay there (the circumstances of Room Draw playing a factor, of course). But I jumped around. It’s amazing how these 100 year-old buildings smell exactly the same—a decades of mustiness sort of thing, with each dorm having its own distinct smell. The bottom picture above is the entrance to my freshman dorm. We wandered in and found my freshman room. We went into that room you can see on the ground floor on the right: the architecture studio, which I essentially lived in my junior year. And later in the weekend we hung out with some friends whose room assignment that weekend was in this dorm, in the exact room that I saw on my tour while in high school. That room was such a huge factor in my choice to go to Bryn Mawr, and I’d never once stepped foot in it after seeing it that first time. And that was weird too.
The structure of reunion is loose: attend some sessions or don’t, as you please. We mostly did not attend things. We went on a horticulture tour of campus, which was a highlight, and we joined in the singing in Greek. We skinny dipped in the fountain, and we of course made sure to be up in time for the Parade of Classes Sunday morning. I opted to watch it from the sidelines rather than walk in it. I’m glad I did. What I love about being an alumna of this place is the amazing women who came before me (and those who have followed). One woman from the class of 1944 came; I hope to show up for my 70th too!
And just look at this place. I want to go back immediately.
