And here we were, standing quietly in one of Yale’s few auditoriums big enough to accommodate such a crowd, letting out a collective sigh. Once the movie started, the team dispersed, and I started packing up our equipment for our event the next morning. Before that, though, I had a moment to spare. I decided to stop moving, to check in with myself. Eight months had led up to this weekend, and although there were still twelve different events left to see through, this one — the biggest one — was over. I knew what I was going to do.
Sneaking out the backdoor, I walked two blocks to Haven Hot Chicken. I ordered their Tendie Trio (three buttermilk jumbo chicken tenders, garlic-dill pickles, a slice of white bread and two ranches). Hot chicken in hand, I walked back to the auditorium. However, instead of joining everyone else on the main floor, I crept upstairs and found a seat on the balcony. To create a clearer flow of traffic, we had closed off this section earlier, so I had the space all to myself. Looking down towards the crowd, who looked up towards the screen, laughing, tearing up, and watching intently, I breathed. We did it.
Once I finished my meal, I went back downstairs and rolled up our red carpet that had been used for photos earlier. I packed up a few boxes and got both materially and mentally ready for the next event. I didn’t get to watch the whole movie, but I got to sit and appreciate more of it than I thought I would.
This vignette describes a moment from my tenure as an event coordinator for the Yale Student Film Festival. From Thursday to Sunday one weekend in April, we hosted 20 different events (panels, screenings, mixers, etc.) for over 800 registered attendees. This Friday, we had our most highly anticipated event, a screening of the Oscar-winning 2023 film The Holdovers with its writer and producer David Hemingson to discuss the film in person. It would be false to say that everything went as planned, but at this moment, all we could do was pat ourselves on the back for having anything at all.
My Yale experience is made up of these magic little moments: the in-between, the exhales. At a school where life moves by at break-neck speed, I document this moment of respite here to recognize and celebrate the act of being present. Living in the present is extremely difficult, especially at Yale, but when I am able to do it, there’s no place I’d rather be.
