As freshman year winds down for the class of 2019, the nostalgia has already started to hit me. There have been many firsts, and looking ahead to Sophomore year, there are a lot of changes to come. I feel bittersweet about the end of the first quarter of our college career and was curious if my classmates felt the same.
Alex Popovski ‘19
Do you know what the Harvard traditions are? What are they?
I’ve definitely heard about the three, but I’m not sure how many people actually do them! But from what I know they consist of peeing on John Harvard’s foot, primal scream, and sex in the stacks
How many of the Harvard traditions have you participated in?
Two of three.
What has been your favourite thing about living in the yard?
Definitely being surrounded by all of the other freshmen. I think that has to be the answer, right? Whenever people ask me about my favorite part of Harvard my answer is always the people. It’s so fun getting to know people’s passions and backgrounds, because they’re all so different. And I think the yard facilitates that interaction just by having all the freshmen live in the same area, more or less.
What was your favourite moment of Freshman Year so far?
Oh wow, there are so many, it’s crazy. This is a hell of a question. One of my favorites was the first night of FOP, laying under the stars having a deep conversation about life and the future and just thinking about what this year would be like. I still remember that moment so vividly. Finding out our assignment for housing day was huge. My whole blocking group just went bananas for a while, it was a helluva moment
Are you hosting anyone for Visitas?
Three peeps.
What are you most excited about telling them about or showing them?
I’m comping Key, so I’m stoked to give them a rad tour of campus. I’ve grown to love this place a lot, and I’m excited to share that with them and take away some of the concerns they inevitably have in their college decision. I think I’ll tell them just how incredible the community at Harvard is, and how amazing the people here are. I’d also pass on a little piece of advice that I picked up at convocation – connect, don’t compare. I think you have to have that mindset at a place like Harvard.
What are you most looking forward to in your new house next year?
Meeting all the rad Dunsterites out there, social life in the House, nice walks by the river in the morning, prime food. I think that about covers it!
There is only one month left of Freshman year. How does that make you feel?
Having one month of freshman year left is so crazy. It’s been a ride.
Jamie Hawkins ‘19
What has been your favourite thing about living in the yard?
People are actually interested to take pictures with a statue that your friends have peed on. It’s the third most photographed statue in the country. The neo-georgian style architecture. Harvard Yard when it’s snowing. It’s amazing. Love it. Sad to leave so soon.
Are you hosting anyone for Visitas?
I am.
What are you most excited about telling them about or showing them?
I’m excited to introduce them to my peers. I chose Harvard because of the people I met here when I visited, and the stories alumni told me about their experience here, and how the knowledge they gained and the escapades they engaged in here at Harvard have shaped them as individuals, really amazing individuals. I can’t tell if I’ll grow up and be anything like them yet, but I’ve got three more years here, so anything’s possible.
What are you most looking forward to in your new house next year?
So, I’ll be living in Eliot House, which is really cool for a lot of reasons. There’s a newly installed Escape The Room in the basement, which I loved. The dining hall is quite nice, and close to home. I like to study in Annenberg sometimes, so it’ll be great to simulate that experience without having to leave the dorm. I’m also excited for a nice river view. I’m co-chair of the Freshman Formal, and I hear Eliot is the only house with three formals. I heard the third one, Fete, is really amazing, and people used to camp out in Eliot house all day long just so they could try to come to the party. Now it’s only open to Eliot house members and their plus ones. I’d really like to be on the planning committee. I’m excited to live so close to some of my favorite people in the college. I’m excited to be a part of a house community, and get to experience housing day from the other side. We’re not in the quad, so nobody’s going to cry when we knock on their doors Hopefully there will be a lot of excitement. I know my and my blockmates screamed before we even opened the door.
There is only one month left of Freshman year. How does that make you feel?
I’m quite sad about it. Only six semesters left here at Harvard, and I still haven’t found a sense of self. Isn’t that the goal? I’ve met some incredible people here and I don’t want to be without them for three months. It’s quite sad, since in three years, I’m going to have to be an independent adult anyway, but at this point, I’m not sure I’ll be able to survive. When I look back to fall of 2015 from way over here things have changed so much. Like you know how much you change from freshman year of high school to senior year? It was like that much change smashed down into a fourth of the timespan. It’s amazing, and I barely remember that person I used to be. I certainly wouldn’t if I didn’t document my life so much through constant journaling and photographs. But the changes thus far are appealing. I can’t say I’ve loved every minute of my time here at Harvard, but I think it would be strange if I did. Overall, it’s been a great year. I’ve grown a lot. Admittedly, I’ve given up a lot as well, but humans are constantly in flux. I’m trying to accept the fact that college is just college. It’s just four short years of my life, but being here at Harvard for some reason just makes that idea feel like one big understatement, when really, it’s true.
Kevin Servellon ‘19
What has been your favourite thing about living in the yard?
I really like the fact that all of my closest friends also live in the yard with me. The fact that it’s all freshman just fosters a strong sense of community. It made it easy to meet new people and it makes it really to learn from each other as well.
Are you hosting anyone for Visitas?
I’m planning on it.
What are you most excited about telling them about or showing them?
I’m most excited about showing them that Harvard’s not what the media makes it seem. I think it’s a very inviting place with a lot of great people that love to learn from each other and that’s something I didn’t know about Harvard before I came here.
What are you most looking forward to in your new house next year?
I am most looking forward to meeting other people that are older than I am, more experienced, who can also give great advice. I am also very much looking forward to living with friends in a closer setting, even though other friends will be farther away. I think it will build stronger ties. And just partaking in house traditions.
There is only one month left of Freshman year. How does that make you feel?
That stresses me out.
John Matthews ‘19
Do you know what the Harvard traditions are? What are they?
Yes, the main three are having sex in the Widener stacks, peeing on John Harvard’s statue, and participating in Primal Scream.
How many of the Harvard traditions have you participated in?
To date, I have only completed one of the three.
What has been your favourite thing about living in the yard?
Without a doubt the convenience. CVS is literally across the road from my dorm, and all the late night food options are only a minute or two away. Being able to wake up right before class and not be late is a plus as well.
What are you most looking forward to in your new house next year?
Living in the two thousand dollar massage chair in the Spfa.
There is only one month left of Freshman year. How does that make you feel?
It makes me feel bittersweet because it highlights just how quickly time flies but it also means that I will be able to experience upperclassman life soon.
What was your favourite moment of Freshman Year so far?
My favorite moment was performing on stage in Eleganza. It gave me an unparalleled adrenaline rush and represented the culmination of several arduous hours of weekly practice.
What do you want to do before you finish your Freshman Year?
I want to spend meaningful time with my friends who will be on the River because we will be separated next year. #QuadLife
PJ LeBlanc ‘19
What has been your favourite thing about living in the yard?
The closeness to everything. I went from waking up two hours before classes started in high school to waking up two minutes after classes started here on the Yard. The closeness of the dorms is pretty great too. I’ve played way too much Catan and Foosball with my entryway. Let’s just say there’s a reason Lionel-Mower has 3 of the top 4 IM Foosball slots right now.
What are you most looking forward to in your new house next year?
Lowell! Hard to say what I’m looking forward to in the housing system. I’m trying not to get too attached to the house because I’ll be in swing housing junior and senior year. I don’t quite know what to make of it yet. I think I’m most excited right now about being able to room with my best friend. I got along great with my freshman roommates, Karl and Eryk, but it’s not quite the same as moving into a room with your best bro.
There is only one month left of Freshman year. How does that make you feel?
I’m excited. I can’t wait to have a broader in house community. Mower was great, but it’s tiny. I can’t wait to have a fresh, new year ahead of me to seize and conquer, to chill with my blockmates, be part of things at the beginning of this new year. And the houses aren’t dry like the freshman dorms, so actually being able to host a party is neat. Freshman year is an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world, but it necessarily comes with a rocky start, when we get shoved into a new community, away from the support networks we grew up with, potentially for the first time. We don’t know what to do, we don’t know anyone else, we don’t know what classes to take or what clubs we should join outside of maybe that sport we did in high school. We don’t know, period. We’re freshmen. I’m excited to come back next year and get right into it, without that time of orientation. Not Freshman Orientation, but the month and a half it really took to find my bearings here at school. I’m sad that our time here is passing so quickly, but I’m so ready for sophomore year.
Ethan Craigo ‘19
Do you know what the Harvard traditions are? What are they?
There are the classic edgy ones such as pissing on John Harvard, sex in the stacks, Primal Scream, etcetera. But then there are more classic ones such as only walking through Johnson Gate twice, Housing Day, things that the college accepts a little bit more. I think it’s a case where you have two main divisions: the stuff that guides like to peddle to tourists, and the less-known, more unsavory stuff that’s a bit like an angry reaction to that.
What has been your favourite thing about living in the yard?
Definitely being so close to all of my classes, and simultaneously right next to both Harvard Square and the T. Everything’s right next to me, which is a radical change from my very rural hometown where you had to drive fifteen minutes to get to any of those things.
What are you most looking forward to in your new house next year?
I love that Quincy is still pretty close to the Yard without being necessarily in it. It also has some nice music practice rooms and gives one the option of going to DeWolfe housing, which I’m considering. Its D-hall is also really a community center.
There is only one month left of Freshman year. How does that make you feel?
I’m sad that it’s all gone by so fast, but a bit relieved at the same time. I brought work on myself very hard this year, and as a result didn’t really get to settle into the Harvard community nearly as much as I’d liked. I hope to make some more time to check out the Boston area and compose my own music next year.
What was your favourite moment of Freshman Year so far?
I’d say that my favorite memory at Harvard this year was right at the end of reading period last semester. I had a really tough math final the next day and was having trouble concentrating on studying, so on a whim I just decided to take a break and go running. I ran along the Charles all the way to Boston Common and back as the sun was setting, and it was absolutely beautiful. Gave me just the burst of energy I needed to ace the final the next day
What do you want to do before you finish your Freshman Year?
I want to explore Boston more before the end of the year.
Angela Yi ‘19
Do you know what the Harvard traditions are? What are they?
Mmhmm. Peeing on the John Harvard Statue, doing the Primal Scream, and having sex in the stacks.
How many of the Harvard traditions have you participated in?
Completed two of three.
What has been your favourite thing about living in the yard?
I love how all, or at least almost all, of my friends live nearby me. I can easily just walk into my friends’s dorms and hang with them whenever we want.
Are you hosting anyone for Visitas?
I’m hosting two! One is a girl I’ve known for five years, and I’m so excited she got accepted to Harvard.
What are you most excited about telling them about or showing them?
The first event I ever went to at Harvard was Drag Night at Queen’s Head Pub. It was my first drag show ever and I absolutely loved it. My host brought me to it, and I can’t wait to bring my hosts to the show, especially since my friends are organizing it.
What are you most looking forward to in your new house next year?
I’m going to be in Dunster so I can’t wait to live in such a gorgeous house with such a gorgeous gym.
There is only one month left of Freshman year. How does that make you feel?
It’s pretty terrifying. I can’t believe I’ve already finished nearly a quarter of my entire college career. Time passed by so quickly, and I still feel like I haven’t gotten my feet on the ground yet. I feel like sophomore year is only going to be harder with higher stakes and much more stress. But at the same time, I’m very excited! I can’t wait to live in my new house with my blocking group. And I’m going to Venice for Harvard’s summer abroad program this year so I’m really looking forward to that, too.
What was your favourite moment of Freshman Year so far?
I really enjoyed being part of the Harvard Korean Association’s Culture Show. Everyone was so amazing, and the turnout for the event was great.
What do you want to do before you finish your Freshman Year?
I want to finish my photography project strong.