Hannah Johnson ‘21

Making ends meet

The world is a harsh and unforgiving place, in these times. As we’ve seen, at the drop of a hat–one positive test–the dining hall can be shut down for a full 24 hours, sending the hungry students scurrying into the night, looking for their next meal at Hogan. I’ve been trying to stockpile for such emergencies.

But it’s not just the pandemic that we’re fighting against–it’s also Lady Luck, and she’s fickle with who she favors. On the 19th, a water pipe burst, leaving all of Williams without water for a full morning. Food, water–it is given, and it is taken away. It takes a resolve of steel to keep your head high through all your online classes, despite the weight of uncertainty pulling you down.

However, this week has brought its own challenge forward. It’s the first day of fall, I hear–but even if I didn’t, I could feel it. The temps are dropping–the scavengers scurry inside to eat their Kimball takeout, and the Quad stands empty with chairs and tents. Sleeping in a dorm, you wake up to a bitter chill, and you do your best to bundle up and make do with the cold. The heating won’t turn on for these old dorms until mid-October–so if you can’t take the freeze, it’s best to skip on out of Worcester, it seems.

Listen. Everything aside, I’m having a great time. The Woo is the place to be in times like these. But under such unprecedented circumstances… Well, we’re all just doing our best to get by.