Welcome to the woods! Dartmouth is hands-down my favorite place, and I look forward to coming back every term. I'm not even kidding. After a day and a half of traveling, I step off the Dartmouth Coach and breathe in the crisp Hanover air. Dragging my two humongous suitcases, I trudge across campus, climb three flights of stairs, fumble for the key in my pocket, and finally open the door to my new corner dorm. I let out a sigh of relief at the sight of my bare twin XL mattress.
Weekends are good, but this year's Halloweekend is the best.
My first Homecoming ceremony this past Friday was amazing. The night started with some pizza and wings at the Occom Commons (in the Mclaughlin dorms), and everyone had North Park merch on. To make our Homecoming night more exciting, we were provided with "Go Big Green" tattoos and light-up headbands. On top of all that, I started painting sparkly, blue glitter on my friends' faces to keep them in North Park spirit. I strongly believe no other houses had such great merch.
After our bellies were full and we were fully accessorized, we headed out to the streets to await the annual Homecoming parade (of first-year students). The soft melodic tune of a bagpipe announced that the crowd of other '26s was only a few meters away. A loud cheerful roar preceded the long line of first-year students, excited to circle the large bonfire on the Green. We quickly joined, chanting along with our classmates.
Now, I don't know about other people, but I, personally, have not seen a fire this big before in my life. The bonfire in the middle of the Green was probably 2 stories high. The moment me and my friends saw the flickering flames, we went "Woahhhhh" all at the same time! Surrounding the fire on the outer circle was the biggest crowd of alumni and other Dartmouth students. Even Keggy the Keg was present. While staring agape at the blazing bonfire and making the trip around it, crowds in the outer circle would cheer us on with (probably) encouraging words. It was an awesome experience.
Successfully making it through this long-held tradition, my friends and I decided we needed us some McNuggets. So we went. Before that though, we had to book a Zipcar, which is basically a car sharing company. It took us around 15 minutes to find the car before we zoomed to West Lebanon (15 minutes away from Dartmouth). Although McDonald's is on top of our priority list, Halloween was coming up and my friends do not have suitable costumes. This led to a slight detour to the shop Spirit Halloween.
After each of my friends secured their Halloween fit, it was finally time for my 20-piece McNuggets and a McFlurry Oreo. At that point, I haven't had Mcdonald's in probably 3 months, so you could imagine how excited I was. Though we had some really annoying problems at Drive Thru, my friends and I finally laid hands on the valuables. The drive back with warm chicken nuggets and cold ice cream was the most pleasant experience ever.
Here's my advice to you: Please attend the Homecoming event! I've heard some '26s didn't show up and I feel like they missed out on a whole lot. This is one of Dartmouth's most well-known traditions which involves all members of the community, and I think it highly encouraged the class's unity. Also, I'd like to point out that McNuggets at the end of the night were a real highlight!
I wrote my "Why Dartmouth?" essay a little under two years ago, and I've had a year in-between to fully experience Dartmouth: how I've grown, changed, and how Dartmouth has been a part of all of it.
