THE GAME and beyoooond

Tex and Hunter being adorable before the game.

The Game. Maybe you've heard of it. Maybe you haven't. This epic struggle of good and evil has raged on between Harvard and Yale since time immemorial (or since 1875). If you're wondering who is evil, the drunk Harvard grad from the seventies seated directly in front of my friends and I can clear that up for you. "If you go to Yale, you will fail. If you go to Yale, you are morally corrupt." Now, the people seated directly behind us, having driven up from Connecticut, might not agree. But, of course, they are patently wrong. They had probably just come from kicking puppies or something. Evil jerks...

Whoa. Let's just say I'm suddenly very proud of going to Harvard. And, in case you were still confused, we won the game with some surprisingly stellar ball playing. The running back from Harvard returned a kick from over 80 yards to score a lovely touchdown. Honestly, I screamed myself hoarse.

Let's not pretend like the whole thing was without a hitch. In fact, I felt suddenly strange. I hadn't attended a game since my time in Pagosa (except maybe one game at CC). As I tried to explain plays to Hunter, I kept looking to Tex to make sure I'd said the right thing. My play breakdowns wandered and often involved a juxtaposition of terms drawn from soccer and rugby alongside football. The most embarrassing moment fell about halfway through the final quarter. We were seated at the middle of the "coliseum" (what a name!), where the crowd was made up about 60/40 of Harvard/Yale fans respectively. Someone to my left started cheering "Defense, Defense". Elated that I knew the cheer, I joined in only to realize that they were Yale fans. I hoped against hope that our dear compatriot in front me had not noticed. The next play, he turned around.
"Are you cheering for Yale now?" he asked.
"Um...no...I just got confused. Uh...I mean...I," I mumbled and tried to find something to say. "I thought I was cheering for Harvard and...uh..."
"No. It's ok. I just want to know so I can keep it down."
"Never!" I replied emphatically. "I hate Yale, bunch a jerks." My reply appeased him.

Our friend can be seen here pointing to the sky,
I believe this gesture reflects joy.

He seemed to get over the incident rather quickly once we scored another touchdown. In fact, while Tex and Hunter got high fives, I got a bear hug. Awkward.

Tailgate before the game. Outside shot of the Coliseum

Before and after the game, Hunter, Tex, and I attended a few tailgates which were a ton of fun. Between the actual game and the hullabaloo surrounding the game, I couldn't have felt more like a real Harvard student. Go Crimson!

After the game, students flooded the field.

The man in the beanie on the edge is Hunter running to join the team on the field.

A couple of days later, I am staring at screens. Going back and forth between the t.v. screen and the computer screen, I write scene analysis and theory and anecdote and pun and so on, hoping something that makes sense will appear on the page. For the first time since graduating from high school, I have four papers due in the next two weeks. Part of me is terrified. The other part of me decided not to be hung up in fear. I have started all of my papers and plan on finishing the one I'm working on tonight. It's a lot to juggle, but now that I'm actually writing, I feel a lot calmer. I feel capable and confident. I just can't lose steam!

Reflecting on the past week, I can say only that I feel like I actually live here. I feel like I belong at Harvard in some way. I may not be the brightest and best student, but I'm keeping up. I feel good about what I have to contribute to my classes and my community here. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving in Washington D.C. and a few weeks away over winter break (California followed by the U.K.?!?!). Spending most of my break here will be a lovely respite as well. My time will be filled with working at the RSL office and reading independently. There are so many books on my list and I'll look forward to time to investigate some new work. Hannah Arendt, here I come!

But, before I can get to reading for fun, I have to be on task with my writing. Wish me lots of inspiration!