Back to school

Figuratively, that is. I went to Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. South Hadley is literally around the corner from Northampton, where we were staying for a few days. So, of course, I had to visit my old alma mater.

I fondly remember visiting colleges during my Junior year of high school. It was love at first sight with Mount Holyoke College. The sweeping grounds, with lots of trees and ivy-covered buildings was exactly how I pictured a college should be. It hasn’t changed much since I graduated.

Mount Holyoke College is one of the Seven Sisters, which are a “group of highly prestigious liberal arts colleges in Northeastern United States.” The Seven Sisters:

• Barnard (now part of Columbia)
• Bryn Mawr
• Mount Holyoke
• Radcliffe (now part of Harvard)
• Smith
• Vassar
• Wellesley.

Mary Lyon was a pioneering educator of women. In 1837 she founded Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College), which Emily Dickinson attended in 1847-48. Lyon was born in Buckland, Massachusetts, on February 28, 1797.

How fitting that Mary Lyon’s grave is on the campus. Here I am in front of the grave.

Here I am, standing at the magnificent front gate to the college.

All the grounds are beautiful. Here is the Upper Lake.

Here are the waterfalls leading to the Lower Lake.

Here is a stream that runs through the campus.

The dorms were small and more like houses, which I loved. Each dorm was different. Here is Safford Hall, where I lived my Senior Year.

I loved being in college and I was somewhat of a nerd. Mount Holyoke is all female (and still is), so there were no distractions. I was a botany major and spent lots of time at the Mount Holyoke College Greenhouse. I did a Senior Thesis on Goldenrod plants and had my experiments planted there.

It was quite nostalgic going back to campus. I knew the campus was beautiful, which is why I chose to go there. But, when I was there, I was so busy studying and worrying about my future, that I never took the time to really enjoy it. Now, that I am older and have lots of time, I can savor the memories and the beauty.

Have you been back to your old school? If so, what did you think?