FALLing in love with Vanderbilt
I love early autumn. As a New Englander, the “beginning of fall” was usually fleeting, simply the herald of upcoming colder weather and the signal for trees to drop the beautifully colored leaves ASAP and for the days to shorten. But here in Nashville, it’s even more magical, and it has already lasted for three-ish weeks. The leaves are still slowly turning, brisk days are interspersed with the warmer ones, and the Red Sox are about to win the World Series (knock on wood). I can finally wear jeans and sweatshirts without risking heat stroke, and CVS is selling Oreos with orange filling, which by the way I am still too scared of to eat. This means, by all indications, that it’s time for Halloween.
Halloween is right around the corner, but it’s pretty easy to get caught up in schoolwork and day-to-day routines and forget about the upcoming wonderful holiday. Thankfully, I have the weather, the leaves and my Instagram feed of friends in costumes to remind me that Halloween is imminent.
But even if those indicators weren’t enough, I can always rely on East House to keep me in the holiday spirit. My hall is lined with pumpkins (both real and plastic), my own door is decorated with Halloween-themed stickers and tinsel, and Saturday night was our OctoberfEAST celebration. There was pumpkin carving (see the photo of our masterpieces, especially the ghost to which I contributed my limited artistic abilities), cupcake decorating, hot apple cider, and even a showing of Halloweentown, the Disney Channel original movie circa 1998, all hosted by our lovely faculty head of house, Professor Gadd and her husband Dave. As if that weren’t already enough, their cat and dog were there to love and shower with all the attention I would usually give my own dog. And just in case it isn’t clear that East is indeed beast, we are the in finals of the Commons Cup flag football tournament after our first two games this weekend.
All in all, I am loving my first fall at Vanderbilt, and I wish you all a Happy Halloween! Please go trick-or-treating for me, as I will be taking a calculus test on Thursday night, but don’t worry—costumes are encouraged. Peace. Love. Candy corn.
