In the midst of a chaotic midterm season, I found myself seated in an elaborately decorated room with a classmate. But rather than stressing over looming deadlines and late night study sessions, we found ourselves enchanted by scents of the apartment.  We didn’t spend that night cramming for quizzes. Instead, we discussed the Spring Revolution with our professor, the former Egyptian ambassador, over a home cooked Egyptian meal. It was then that I truly realized what the vague phrase “undergraduate focus” really meant.

Anyone who has ever taken a tour, opened a brochure, or googled “Yale“, knows that we’ve got some pretty neat libraries. Take Sterling Memorial Library for example: situated in the center of campus in all its shining neo-Gothic glory, Sterling attracts students, tourists, and photographers. Or if you gravitate towards more modern architecture, Beinecke Rare Books and Manu script Library adds an Avant-garde touch to the central quadrangle of campus. 

Last year, I found myself gripping the edge of my seat eagerly following the cadences of a fellow Yalie’s poem. Although I had never been so utterly entranced by nouns and delighted by verbs, I now found myself drawing an imaginative storyline in my mind’s eye. I stumbled on the delightful hypnotic capabilities of spoken word poetry.

And like any adoring fan, I tried many times to mimic these poetic masters’ natural style.