Another Sentimental Commons Post
Freshman year is ending. It’s a sentimental time, and as I’m scrolling through pictures of the year on Facebook instead of doing what I really should be doing (studying for finals…hahahahaha), I’m realizing that I haven’t yet dedicated a post to what is likely my favorite thing about my entire first year here: Memorial House. So this one goes out to you, Mem Fam.
Memorial House is my home. Before I arrived on campus, my RA posted a picture of our building, and I was like “wow, that building is pretty.”
Memorial House is pretty. But it’s also the place where I can walk through the common room at any hour and find friends there to greet me, and where music seems to waft through every other door. RAs and residents play intense games of bridge (yes, like the card game that old people play) and vibrant discussions take place on every floor. People aren’t afraid to take naps in the common room, because the worst thing that can happen to you is that someone takes a picture of you and texts it to the group (okay, maybe they’re a little afraid). You can walk outside on a lazy Sunday afternoon and find people studying at the little table on our patio, or climbing the tree just outside my window.
Memorial house is my team. As vice president of the house this year, I was charged with the honor of ensuring that our house claimed Commons Cup, the Commons-wide competition that pits each house against one another in academics, athletics, service, sustainability, and community involvement. As the smallest house, we are perpetually the underdogs, especially when it comes to athletics. But guess who won the entire soccer tournament last month?
Okay, remember that time I told you I screamed the first time it snowed here? Take that and multiply it by 10. That is how excited I was when last week, Dean Wcislo announced that Memorial House not only beat out EVERY OTHER HOUSE in Community Involvement (aka showing up. You rock, Mem House), but also came in 3RD OVERALL IN COMMONS CUP. WHAT???
It was a good day. Take that, houses that are three times our size.
Speaking of vice presidential duties, being on my House Advisory Council and helping to plan programs for Mem House all year was one of the best experiences of my entire first year. Despite being rained out about a million times, our Commons Mix-Up, Memaroo, was an absolute blast. We recruited student performers from across the campus, got a food truck to park right outside the house, and invited the Commons to our backyard to experience the music that my house is so famous for.
Memorial House is my family. I know I’ve probably said this a million times, but I could not imagine my first year at Vanderbilt with the people I met in Memorial. We just had our final S’Memorial/cookout yesterday, complete with barbeque, a “remember when…” banner for people to write their favorite memories, a TON of pictures, and a slideshow set to “Small House,” a song written by some of our very own Mem House boys (told you we were famous for our music…).
If you’ve ever been on a campus tour, or visited our website, or talked to anyone affiliated with Vanderbilt University admissions, you’ve probably heard the spiel about Commons as a lovely little living-learning community that’s basically Hogwarts. If you’re like me, you were probably like “yeah, cool” and moved on with your life. Even after reading this post, you may still not fully grasp how important Commons houses are to me, and to the majority of the first years on campus. You’re just going to have to believe me when I tell you that life on Commons is an experience you do not want to miss. And Class of 2019, you’d better start hoping you’re one of the lucky 80 who gets placed in Memorial next year, where these fools (aka my RAs), who somehow got put on the same staff again, will be waiting to welcome you to the best house there ever was.
