samnesia:

what is bexley? here, let’s present it in a way that would’ve made my seventh grade english teacher smile and my eight grade english teacher grimace.

some givens:

1. bexley is close to things
2. also, it’s not clean. well, it’s not actually dirty, so maybe i mean it’s not sterile
3. the rooms are nicely sized - my single is many times larger than a breadbox

some not-so-givens:

the thing: there aren’t that many people around me. most people are on the fourth floor. i’m in the 209 suite, and i’m pretty sure 208 and 209 and 210 are all empty now. i haven’t knocked on the doors or anything, but i’ve done my fair share of semi-nude wandering and i haven’t been embarrassed yet.

a corollary: it’s kind of lonely! well, that’s what i felt at first - my first few days here, i was itching hard for sustained human contact. but then i was talking with ben and he casually said something like, “it must be like walden pond”, and that flipped a switch.

the plan: in a throwback to mr. h d thoreau, this summer will be an exercise in solitude and some meditation. i’ll listen to music. i’ll take pictures. i’ll go to cafes and try to talk to people i’ll never see again. i’ll work out and watch sports so frats want me come fall. i’ll go couchsurfing at harvard to find love. maybe.

my thoughts: i’m okay with this. sure, it feels like maybe it’s too early in my life to practice being alone like this. and i mean, i’ll still hang out with people, so it’s a kind of quasi-solitary lifestyle. so i ain’t no hermit, but this place definitely ain’t a frat house.

last words: i still want to reconnect with a lot of people this summer. but i think just as much as i’m around people, i’ll be on my own, taking it slow and for once, actually relaxing.

…sounds like my summer last year.  i think i had like 0.13 full conversations with bexley people.  definitely don’t regret it though.  being in boston alone is a pretty hard gem to find, not to mention super interesting.  you can also stare at people crossing mass ave and going to the stud for hours, and belt out songs as loud as you want.