Dear House Party Weekend,
Where’d you go? We miss you so…
…It seems like it’s been forever since you’ve been gone, House Party, but it is all too evident that the one-year anniversary commemorating our breakup is quickly approaching. This weekend, Bucknell gals and guys alike should be preparing for your arrival with carefully planned ensembles (Floral dresses, pastel shorts and sunglasses no matter the weather) and pre-super playlists (Will ’80s jams and country hits still be the go-to?). Instead, this weekend, students across Bucknell, no, across the world, will miss your warm embrace that used to welcome an entire campus to the most cherished weekend of the year.
We knew each other well, House Party. You knew that we would greet you with open, loving arms, and we knew that – based upon oral tradition spread among faculty, alumni and Facebook histories – you would bring us another year’s worth of iconic stories and inescapable happiness. And we believed that, through each visit, we would be further united by our freedom to love and to accept one another – a freedom determined by our mutual passion.
But looking back, we took you for granted, House Party. And deep down, we do not blame you for your sudden change of heart.
Year after year, we have dragged you through the mud; smashed bottles in your name; beat your hay-blanketed backyards to pulp. We have screamed and chanted repetitive tunes in your ear; scattered the streets with the remnants of your weekend; bashed in windows, destructed doorways and stomped through roofs. And by the time we realized that you deserved far better than our short-lived spells of ruckus, you were already gone.
Our last meeting was brief, House Party, on a cool, grey Friday afternoon, just hours into the first sighs of springtime. Do you remember how we managed to stay warm? Between the houses on St. Catherine’s and 6th, we huddled together like penguins, sipped our transparent Dunkin’ cups with frozen lips, jumped on trailers to country music and thawed our icicle hands on miraculous Space Heaters (a blessing, mind you).
Last year, like decades before, your 48-hour visit brought Bucknell’s campus together in ways that Freshman Orientation, Greek Life and Varsity sports could not. The campus-wide excitement brought by your arrival allowed you to blur the boundaries between fraternities and sororities, sweet-talk the Caf into concocting a delectable buffet of fried and cheesy foods to satisfy our bottomless appetites and inspire budding musicians to play wholeheartedly for Bucknell students and their guests.
And then Sunday morning rolled by in a confused cloud of mixed memories, stale late-night snacks and gallons of untouched tap water. We continued, like always, reveling in the photographs you left us, chattering amongst ourselves about your stay, already counting down the days to your next visit.
But you were gone long before we got the chance to say goodbye.
Too quickly, you became a distant, hazy memory marked by the silhouettes on our coffee mugs and the orange imprints on our tanks. House Party, you must know that we do still hurt from the brevity of your departure. We are still heartbroken by what we thought to be an everlasting relationship.
Forgetting you, House Party, would be like forgetting our college experience, our traditions and ourselves. For decades, we have walked hand-in-hand with you through the streets of Downtown Lewisburg, hummed the same country songs and lived in the moment, one weekend after the next.
One year later, you are gone, but not forgotten. One year later, we still remember your irreplaceable spirit. One year later, we still remember the last day of what we thought to be a lifelong visit.
And one year later, while we are still heartbroken, struggling to fathom why you left us so suddenly, we are a better Bucknell than ever before. We are resilient. We are hopeful. Although you made it clear that you will not be visiting anytime soon, some part of us knows that you will come back to us someday.
Until then, we wish you the world because you will never find another love like Bucknell.
Always,
Your beloved Bucknell