Before Ann Romney’s visit to Elizabethtown College, I was scrolling through Twitter passing the time until the speech began. I couldn’t help but laugh at one of Etown junior Beth Pearson’s tweets: “I keep thinking of how Secret Service probably won’t understand Etown norms – why is there an unattended bag? Why is there an unlocked bike?”
Since then, I’ve been thinking more and more about what it is that makes the College its own special little bubble. My roommate, Daisy Curtin, is in one of Dr. John Teske’s psychology classes and he originally posed the idea for this article, which Daisy brought home to yours truly. So as we all make it through the home stretch of classes and final exams, let us take a minute to reflect on the little things that make Etown so Etown-y.
1. The (predominantly) trusting nature of the student body. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been in the Marketplace and have seen either parents or friends of a current student balk at the notion of simply leaving wristlets and iPhones as place savers in the dining rooms. The reactions usually go from “oh, you’re joking” to “wait, I think they’re serious” to “alright, let’s hope this works out.” While there is the occasional swiped laptop or cell phone, it is normally safe to say that you could probably leave your first born laying around and no one would dare go near it unless they were saying hello.
2. Hating clubs that use blue slips. We’ve all been there: glancing in your mailbox to see that familiar shade of deep blue. You can almost taste mom’s cookies or feel that new pair of shoes … hey, wait! I actually don’t care about the first meeting of the (insert any club name here)’s Club. In fact, I will angrily toss it in the recycling bin and will never support anything that club does simply because they got my hopes up.
3. Relationships with the cleaning ladies/men. Every Wednesday and Friday I am, without fail, in my bathroom when Judy is scheduled to clean it. I don’t know why I can’t remember the cleaning times, but the point is I don’t. Ever. But Judy, she never complains. No, she just moseys along and cleans the laundry room while I’m finishing up my shower. Not only does she accommodate to my schedule, but whenever I look visibly ill or even sad, she smiles her big, grandmotherly grin at me and I think, “You know, it’s gonna be okay.” Remind me to do something special for her this holiday season …
4. That smell. You know it. Chocolate. Cookies. Brownies. Don’t we all (secretly or not so much) love walking outside thinking it will be an average day when VOILA it smells like only the best dessert to ever exist? There’s something about chocolate days that makes getting motivated a little bit easier and the day a little bit better. I reminisce of spring of last year, tanning on the Dell with the aroma of Dove chocolate surrounding me and wish I could go back to skipping classes and reading magazines in the April sunshine. Year-round though, I think it’s true: when it smells sweet outside, life gets a little sweeter itself. Now those other days … don’t even get me started.