One Rainy Sunday at Tufts
When we think of a ‘fulfilling college life’, what do we think of?
For many, myself included, we imagine the best four years of our lives jam-packed with inspiring classes and professors, an endless variety of events and clubs to partake in, and the most incredible people we’ve ever met. In the two months that I’ve been here at Tufts, I’ve been blessed to experience all that and so much more. But in spite of these awesome experiences which I so greatly cherish, what I’ve found to be often understated in our conceptions of ‘fulfilling college lives’ are the quiet moments in between – the little everyday encounters and idiosyncrasies that have made my college life so memorable thus far.
When I think about the pieces of the puzzle that has been my time at Tufts, what I remember most are the little interactions I have with my floormates every day, the goodnight hugs I have with my neighbor at exactly 10.30pm every night, and the random drop-ins into rooms for quick chats that spiral into hour-long discussions about everything from sports and school to worldly fears (read: long-term meaningful employment). It’s all in the little things, and this was something I never expected coming into college.
It was one specific day that enlightened me to this. Last Sunday, Tufts was rained out. It felt like the New England weather that I’d been warned about before coming to Tufts had finally come. While most Sundays I try to go out into Boston and explore the city, that day I decided to stay in, as did most of the people on my floor. But what started seemingly like a listless, downcast Sunday quickly turned into a homely occasion. For the entire day, as the rain beat mercilessly down, we studied together, listened to music, shared ‘survival snacks’, walked around Houston all day in sweats and bedroom slippers, and stayed cooped up (and dry) in the new home we’d made for ourselves at college. Later that night, we all put on our rain jackets and sprinted through the torrential downpour to Carm where we shared a warm dinner and warmer laughs, and then ended off the evening with a spontaneous movie screening in my room, where we watched Scream and bonded over our collective terror and tons of Chex Mix.
It wasn’t anything special, and I find it hard to explain why I enjoyed that day so much – but everything just felt right. Though I objectively didn’t accomplish much of anything, everything about that rainy Sunday felt like I was at home. Walking through the corridors of my dorm, having random spontaneous conversations sitting outside the bathroom, and hurtling through the rain out of sheer desperation for food all made me realise just how comfortable I’ve become with my life here.
On a Sunday with nothing to do, simply being amongst my friends and doing the most mundane tasks somehow turned out to be one of the most spiritually refreshing and reassuring days I’ve had at Tufts so far. I’m so happy to have met all the people I’ve met here and I’m so incredibly thankful to have the chance to live with them in this community that I’m able to call my home.