There comes a day when every human being must prove his or her mettle in the most challenging and treacherous of situations. That day came for me in late January when Yale had a snow day and members of Silliman College (TD’s rivals from across the street) came to usurp the great power of my residential college.
All the TDers could see from our windows many Sillimanders strolling into TD with hands full of snow and malice in their eyes. They thought they caught us off guard by coming in the middle of the day, but many TDers were prepared and we used our home court advantage to travel through the basement system of the college and bring snow to throw from our windows. TDers were so determined to fight this army of Sillimanders that we also had brave individuals go right into the line of fire and throw many snowballs at our rivals.
I knew that my moment of proving my mettle was coming, so I went outside with an empty bucket from my room and collected a bucket’s worth of snow to hurl at anyone that tried to fight against my TD family. When I went outside I realized I was face-to-face with my friend Chad who not only is a freshman in Silliman, but also was the student I hosted during Bulldog Days when he got accepted the previous year. I could see only a second of regret on his face before he threw a shovel’s worth of snow in my direction. Betrayal happens in many forms, my friends. I was able to dodge it and hurl my snow at him, which lead to a back and forth of snow hurling that created a spectacle for both TD and Silliman students. By the end, I’m not even sure who won, I just know everyone in the courtyard couldn’t stop laughing and smiling.
Putting my dramatic, 300-esque storytelling aside, that snowball fight was an amazing experience because of how many people got to hang out with friends and do something that is DEFINITELY not limited to little kids in the backyard. College rivalries are strong and common around campus, but that is only because the students like interacting with each other across colleges and across campus. No matter what college you are placed in and what beautiful community you make in that college, you can also find a great community of friends in all corners of Yale. From hosting someone before they actually came to Yale to having a snowball fight together on campus just shows how easy and wonderful it is to connect with people and build friendships at Yale. Even if it means leaving your friends covered in snow.
