Started From the Bottom: The Move from Newton to Lower
By: Blake Acquarlo
My favorite day of freshman year was March 18th. While sitting in a crowded biology lecture, I glanced around to notice not a single student paying attention. Each one was constantly refreshing their iPhone email, anxiously awaiting the anticipated message. Then, at exactly, 12:19 pm, my phone pinged: one new message. “We have concluded the drawing for today’s room type”, it read, “and your group has received a pick time”. I raised both hands ceremoniously into the air. We had finally done it. We had an 8-man suite.
You could say my friend group was lucky our freshman year. The eight of us met the very first day of move-in and stayed together rather seamlessly throughout the year. It was pretty unheard of to have a friend group of girls last, but we did it. There was one tiny blemish though: we lived on Newton. We had big dreams from the beginning, you see. Hardey House was great for a year, but we knew it was time for an upgrade. We aspired to live in Vandy, to eat in Lower, to be within steps of the Mods, and to NEVER have to take the Newton bus again. March 18th changed the course of our luck with BC housing. As the BC meme stated, our journey had been one where we, “started from the bottom… now we here!”
After that perfect Monday afternoon email, we immediately began planning. Who was bringing the TV? How would we decorate our common room? And who on Earth knows how to properly sanitize a bathroom? It was an exciting time, but also very chaotic. The upgrade from small doubles on Newton to an 8-man suite in Vandy has forced us to not only communicate more and divide responsibilities, but to also make compromises and understand each other even more. None of us truly recognized in the beginning, not only the additional financial cost of living in an 8-man, but also the extra time commitment and communication it requires.
Regardless of this, I cannot wait to live on Lower! Being so close to Lower dining hall, Hillside, the Plex (see you never, the Hut!!), and everything else Main campus has to offer is beyond exciting. Upon choosing our room, we went about a month later to Vandy and scoped out everything we could about it. To say the least, we are just a little excited about our new housing. As great as Newton was, I am looking forward to a change in environment and scenery. It is time. Bring it on, sophomore year.
Sources: https://www.facebook.com/BCmemes, Credit: Nicolas Greige