Beyond the Bubble: Homecoming Perspective
Last weekend, I returned to Hanover to cheer on the Big Green against Yale and smugly watch the '17s prove their worth as I fondly recalled when my own face was scorched by the flames of the bonfire two years ago. Well, actually, I arrived close to 11 p.m. on Friday (never take the 4:30 p.m. New York coach), in time to watch a few alums wander nostalgically around the dying embers, and, although I pride myself on being one of my few friends to actually enjoy football, I attended the game for a mere twenty minutes.
I instead spent my Homecoming devouring the Oktoberfest specials at Lou's, acquiring much-needed facetime in KAF and taking fall foliage photos — classic Dartmouth behavior, I would say. The weekend was just the dose of New England autumn that I needed, since New York has shown no signs of preparing for winter (not that I'm complaining).
That's not to say that the weekend was perfect. Disappointingly, I felt quite irrelevant upon my return. Not only did I not recognize 99 percent of the faces I saw, but many of my nearest and dearest didn't even realize I was off (far too many of my enthusiastic hugs were greeted withbewildered and half-hearted smiles).That was my first mistake: returning for a big weekend, when Iwas just another visitor with far too much free time. Perhaps you may consider visiting campus during a less popular weekend, so your presence will be more strongly felt.My second mistake was forgetting to bring both frat shoes and a fracket (shame on me) and my third was failing to go to Ice Cream Fore-U.
Although I never used the sneakers I packed for a beautiful October hike and I didn't catch up with all the ’14s I vaguely know, the weekend was incredibly relaxing and perfectly timed in my off-term. Personally, I would advise against cramming your visit with activities and attempting to meet up with everyone you consider a friend (read: your snapchat list). You have approximately 48 hours on campus after all, and running around to see dozens of people is just unrealistic and stressful.Thankfully, the majority of my friends are scattered across Europe this term, so the problem of having too many friends didn't affect me, but I hear it's a tricky position.
All in all, it was a great trip. Though I was nostalgic for Hanover fall on Saturday afternoon, by the evening, as the temperature quickly plummeted, I was ready to return to New York (I conveniently ignored the fact that I will be at Dartmouth in the dead of winter). I certainly recommend making the trek up to Dartmouth at least once during your off-term, even if you're having a grand old time away from school. If the thought that everyone in Hanover may forget that you exist isn't enough to push you to purchase a coach ticket, perhaps the prospect of Molly's bread is.