Yale is kicking me out this year.
To clarify, when I say kicked out, I mean that I will have completed eight semesters at Yale and will be asked to graduate.
This fact doesn’t make me any happier about leaving this place. They may have to pry me off the Branford swing where I will have duct taped myself to its surface. Or to the Beinecke Library. Or to the statue of Nathan Hale on Old Campus.
However, in order to maximize my very last year at Yale, I created a Yale bucket list for myself regarding everything I had never done. I want to complete the list before I graduate. I thought I would post a couple of the entries to share with everyone. The ones below I still have to accomplish.
Go to the pig roast at the Yale Farm: Every April, the Yale Sustainable Farm organizes an elaborate parade up Prospect Street culminating in a giant outdoor feast.
Star gaze at the Yale Astronomy Tower: Maybe on a shooting star night? We shall see.
Meditate with the Buddhist group in Battell Chapel: Yale’s Buddhist organization, Indigo Blue, offers an hour of meditation each week in Battell Chapel. I am Christian, but one of my goals this year is to actively work on meditating to help me relax and clear my mind.
Volunteer weekly at Saint Thomas More soup kitchen: I have volunteered time to time at STM, but I want to make this a full commitment. I don’t take Wednesday morning classes, so this is a time slot I no longer have any conflicts in. Saint Thomas More is the church I attend every week and I really want to give back to the church community and the New Haven Community.
See a College Orchestra performance: Any of them. Dport Props. JE College Orchestra. Berkeley. Saybrook. This is one of my immediate concerns, because there are so many of these shows!
Ice skate at the Whale: It’s our hockey rink and it’s shaped like a whale (I know…). They rent skates, and it’s always fun to skate in the winter.
See? Told ya.
Live jazz at Firehouse 12: Firehouse 12 is this swanky, beautiful speakeasy bar that sells cocktails with names like “gimlet” or “Tom Collins.” I like to go on Wednesdays with friends (don’t worry, I am 22), but the upper level is a performance space for jazz. Before the year is over, I would like to see a live concert there.
Watch a Yale Polo Match: And a skeet and trap competition. And all the more diverse club sports Yale has to offer.
Hear an Acapella group sing at Mory’s: I have been to Mory’s. And I have seen acapella. It’s the idea of the two things together.
Participate in the Yale Holi festival: Paint fight? Outdoors? Yalies? Sign me up.
Go to a Yale sketch comedy show: No excuse for this at all. I would like to apologize to my friends Sam, Gabe and Charlie for not seeing a sketch show yet.
In short, I have been here for four years, but I still feel that I could stay here for another decade and still discover that one more amazing class, performance or hidden spot in New Haven. Guess that I might be spotted sneaking around the campus like an over-nostalgic alumna.
