“Our Old and New Families”
By Caciques Brandon Gell and Marianne Foss-Skiftesvik
After an exciting day of preparing for parents weekend, I can safely say that everyone in the community is itching to spend time with their families. It was right after dinner circle when I realized just how excited I was to see my family and show them everything I have done here. From how I have adapted to excel in my new home and how I have come to know this island like the back of my hand. I am excited to show my family my new friends and family here. I came to these realizations during an exercise Marianne and I led proceeding dinner circle. We asked each person to stand up and touch people on the head, depending on what the prompt was. For example: one of the prompts was “touch someone who you have seen change in.” The whole night was filled with people talking about their family, and it was nice to see how a community that came together just 3 months ago has formed into the family it is now.
-Brandon
With much anticipation for Parents Weekend, people were busy running around to get things ready. We spent much of our day working on the art gallery which is turning into such a creative room. We had a 3-hour block of art today where we cleaned out the boys’ common room and made it into an awesome replica of the inner- loop. It is one of the first things the parents’ will see when they come onto campus! With all the craziness of the day, Brandon and I decided that it was time to play a game at circle. We have played this games twice before, once at the end of orientation and once at circle on a night earlier in the semester. To play this game, ten people step into the middle of the circle and tap people on the head when the prompt applies to them. For example, Brandon and I would say tap someone who you feel safe with or someone who you will be friends with forever. It always makes everyone appreciate being apart of the community. It helps you realize that the people in this community are special in their own way and really inspire everyone else. The night ended with study hours, and the anxiousness of seeing our parents tomorrow.
-Marianne