Author Archives: Philip Williams

Home?

 

This past week I took off work and went home for a vacation;  I was so excited to go home and see my family and all my friends. I hadn’t been home since spring break, and I was enthusiastic to go back and see my city. Home for me is Brooklyn, New York and as much as I love the beauty and intimacy of small town I was more than ready to be back amongst the hustle and bustle of a big city.

 

As I drove home that Sunday, I was overwhelmed with excitement as soon as I saw the first apartment complex in the Bronx. Words cannot begin to describe how happy I was to be home.  I was basically bouncing out of my seat. When we finally reached Brooklyn it was like I was being welcomed home with big open arms; my city was welcoming me home.

 

Then the little things began to get to me. I would get online and type in go/something and it wouldn’t work. Or when I would cross the street in Manhattan and would almost get hit every time because cars do not care to stop. I was especially bothered by how many people lived on my own block that I didn’t even know. These were all things about New York that had never bothered me. I would not  have dreamed they would ever be a problem, but now it was. I didn’t realize why I wasn’t content in being home, until about Thursday and I sincerely thought about it and found I was comparing home to Midd. I had to sit down and really take in the fact that over this past year and especially during the summer Middlebury had become home.

The quote really rings true, “home is where the heart is.” As much as I miss and no matter how much I love New York my heart isn’t there. It came with me to Vermont and it planted some roots, trust me when I say I couldn’t be happier.

Preparing for Bristol Falls :)

Tomorrow is July 4th. Everyone knows it’s our nation’s biggest holiday and no one’s working so it’s a great day to have some fun. Greg, the Dean of Admissions, has been telling us that he is going to take us all to Bristol Falls and tomorrow is the big day. Bristol Falls is supposedly this huge rock that is a really popular place to dive off of. It is also really, really tall, so I have been doing a number of activities in preparation of Bristol. One of which would be going to Lake Champlain on Saturday.

Like my co-worker, Naila Jahan, I am city kid down to my bones, but I love to explore and do a lot of new things. When I was younger I used to love leaving New York and going down south to the country and just being around trees, bugs and all things natural and this summer I am determined to regrow that love. So on Saturday all of us interns went to the beautiful Lake Champlain. It was perfect weather, mid 70’s, warm enough to swim and tan in, but not too hot. The sky was enchantingly blue with spotted clouds here and there. The water was a little cold but it was fun nonetheless. I had my first kayaking experience this Saturday as well. It was phenomenal I had never had so much fun in my life and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. I also jumped off the dock into the lake as a small preparation for Bristol but I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I had swam and trust me when I say it had been a long time. Luckily some instincts kicked in and I did not drown but there is much practicing to be done.

So these past 3 days I have been going to Middlebury’s pool everyday to prepare myself to swim in Bristol and I would say my swimming skills are almost back at an acceptable level. Tomorrow will tell whether these practices have paid off.

Alumni Weekend

Being in Middlebury during the summer has its own charm and atmosphere that is vastly different from the atmosphere during the academic year. This is true for both the town and the college itself. A lot of that change has a lot to do with the smaller amount of students on campus and the beautiful weather that comes with the change in seasons. But also during this time there is an influx of a different type of Middlebury scholar that comes to campus. These would be the alumni during reunion weekend.

The alumni add a whole new layer to the already rich community here on campus. There is just something about watching the class of 1962 walk by and knowing that you’re the class of 2015. It further reiterates the appreciation for the beautiful legacy and the long standing traditions that Middlebury has. And some of the conversations you have with these alumni; they are breathtaking. The saying “Listen to those who come before you” truly has a lot of merit. I feel like I’ve learned and gathered so much from a half hour conversation with a gentleman from the class of ’62 and I have barely scratched the surface of the wealth of knowledge he possesses.

I’m just amazed once again at the beauty of Middlebury.

Philip Williams ‘15