Middle Earth and Mid-Semester

            Well, I’m still catching up. We had a lovely time in Taiwan, but then I came back and still had three essays and a take-home exam to finish. Which I did, by the way, but with little time to spare. Most of the past week has been spent procrastinating, due to the lingering effects of Spring Break, and then having to rush to finish whatever it was I was supposed to be doing.

            It isn’t just indolence, though. On the flight to Taiwan I watched The Desolation of Smaug, and after many years of indifference I decided I should actually read Lord of the Rings. Which I have been doing for the last week-and-a-half, whenever I could grab time from other things. I finally passed the climax this morning, so it shouldn’t be much longer, but my life has been quasi-suspended since I started, so it’s probably good that I’m close to finished. Still, I’m getting some studying done. I spent all Saturday studying with a friend, and then we went out for ice cream to reward ourselves once I finished an essay. Studying with people can make for good memories.

            It is getting warmer – I now consider 50 degrees acceptable T-shirt weather, if there isn’t much wind. If I don’t have to wear leggings under my jeans, I’m content. It’s been raining lately, with a little sleet mixed in, but spring has definitely begun. I happen to get ecstatic when it rains – a consequence of living in a drought for so long, I suppose – so I was perfectly happy. In addition to which, the rain actually made green patches start spreading through the grey grass I thought had died, which is always cheery. Still, I’ll be glad when summer comes, for more than one reason.

            And next year I'll be in upper-classman housing - a 'house', as opposed to a 'dorm'. I like my housing assignment – it’s Pfoho (Pforzheimer), which is in the Harvard-Radcliffe Quadrangle (‘the quad’ for short). That means it’s a fifteen to twenty-minute walk, or a shuttle ride, from my house to the main campus, but I like the quad. I stayed there as a pre-frosh*, and I remember being struck by how quiet it was. It’s like being in the suburbs, and since that’s where I grew up, I like that. In addition, the rooms are some of the nicest around, and there are a lot of singles and doubles available, though that’s all taken care of later.

            Speaking of later, I’ve also finalized my plans for the summer. I’ll be studying intensive Arabic in Amman, Jordan, and I’m looking forward to it! It will be the first time I’ve taken Arabic, and I look forward to learning a lot. At the moment, preparation means trying to learn a little preliminary Arabic (like the alphabet) and doing a lot of paperwork.

            Sometimes I sit and think to myself, “wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could just spend a few months learning and growing?” And then I remember that I’m a full-time student, and that’s about as close as it gets. Still, as I talk to my friends, we sometimes wonder if there isn’t a better way. Perhaps not. Perhaps we can’t transcend the rules, not yet. Maybe we have to have them, to keep us from falling short entirely. One day, though, perhaps things can change.

            A cappella isn’t resting, either. We learned our final song for the semester on Sunday, and now we’re counting down the days until our two performances this coming Saturday and our spring concert a week after that. Everything is going so fast – the semester is going to be over before we know it, with all the things we need to do. My anticipation for the summer is tempered by the friendships I’ve made with graduating seniors.

            The high school seniors are getting close to graduation, too. It’s strange to see them all excited about the colleges they’re going to, doing all the things I did last year at this time. Here at Harvard we’re preparing things for our admitted students and new freshmen and reminiscing about our own pre-frosh visits, while we make our own decisions about majors and minors and future classes.

            Well, it’s not time for end-of-the-year reminiscing yet. There are still plenty of things to do before leaving – finish Lord of the Rings, for one. I know I’m not the only busy person in the world, so I will leave you to whatever tasks may befall you (you can tell I’ve been reading LotR, can’t you?). Go, and may the stars shine on your faces!** And if you happen to leave a comment on Facebook, that’s also appreciated!

*pre-frosh: title for those between applicant and freshman

** The Lord of the Rings, Book II, The Ring Goes South