ARCs and Blockmates

After enduring ceaseless badgering, I finally relented and decided to lend a few ARCs to my blockmates (Harvardspeak for "roommates"), a.k.a. some of the coolest people in the universe. Freshman year in college is special in a lot of ways, but one of the reasons that it's different from all of the other years is that you don't get to choose who you live with. This can be, at times, disastrous (when the housing gods decide to tempt fate by placing extremely disparate individuals in tiny, enclosed spaces), but it's also sort of wonderful. Unlikely friendships--such as Callie and Vanessa's--are forged that enrich our college experience and endure a lifetime.

Below, you'll see some of the amazing girls whom I lived with my sophomore, junior, and senior years. In the beginning, however, it was just me and Rina. I'll never forget one of the last days of senior year, when Rina looked at me and said: "What if the housing office had never paired us together?" We were both silent for a moment. Then we burst into tears. (Actually, for those of you who haven't been there yet, bursting into tears at random intervals is quite a normal reaction to the end of college. You'll never want to leave.)

(From left: Marta, Alice, Lauren, Christina and Zandra)

So, here we are on Marta's deck sneaking a peek at some advanced copies of The Ivy. I think the person who took the photograph said to "look scandalized," presumably at the content of the book. Personally, I think I'm in shock because I never knew that Zandra could read upside down!

Later, we went inside and relived the old glory days and stories that may or may not have inspired aspects of the book over dinner. We were all feeling nostalgic by the end, and when Alice sniffed and we looked at her questioningly, we all knew exactly what she meant when she said mournfully: "I'm just sad because those were the best days of our lives." We agreed. Then we group-hugged her until she yelled at us to get off.

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