College Lesbianage Class of 2016: Halloween, Snow and Elections, Oh My!

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Hello and welcome to another edition of Autostraddle’s College Lesbianage: a glimpse of college life through the wide eyes of six freshly fallen snowflake first-year queers. This month’s update finds our Lesbianagelings settling into their respective establishments of higher learning, where cute girls mill around campuses being cute and rugby teams practically fall into people’s laps. Also, it becomes increasingly clear that writing for Autostraddle while attending a university is basically a one-way ticket to Getting Luckyville. Glad we could help, girls.


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Kelsey

Bryn Mawr

It was my first real rugby scrimmage and, even though it was only 40 minutes long and not officially a game, I was terrified. When the ref told us to line up on the field, I forced myself to breathe evenly, to think of anything but how any of the girls from the other team could tackle me in an instant. And then suddenly the game began and I had no time to think anymore.

Even though we lost the scrimmage, the experience of actually playing rugby — of running and tackling and being part of a team — was wonderful. I managed to follow what was happening (a rather big accomplishment in rugby, because it can get pretty complicated), was a decent prop (the position I play), and even helped tackle a few people. I have another scrimmage this weekend and a tournament in December and, even though I still worry about getting tackled and not knowing all of the rules, I’m excited to have more opportunities to experience what I’ve been practicing for since September.

Me after my first rugby scrimmage!

Besides playing rugby, the team also took a trip to a ropes course, where I got to ride a zipline and walk across a cable 30 feet off the ground (attached to a harness, of course). Thanks to our coach, I even have a picture of my circus-esque cable walking stunt to show you!

Even looking at the picture, I have a hard time believing that I actually did this.

I’ve also gotten involved in Bryn Mawr’s feminist newspaper, The College News. While my high school’s newspaper was more traditional and school news-oriented, The College News is a place to write about my opinions and experiences, especially in regards to feminism and queer issues. But I mostly love this newspaper because it’s a place where people aren’t afraid, and are even excited, to discuss issues that many people don’t talk about.  If you’re interested, here’s the article I wrote for The College News — plug: I talk about lesbians.

I’ve also been involved in the Rainbow Alliance’s Out Week — I danced at the OUTer Space party and helped write queer-related things to hang all over campus — studied like crazy for a bunch of tests, and even canvassed for Obama. Life’s only getting crazier as finals week approaches, and sometimes I get tired of homework and the stress of not knowing people well yet, but mostly I’m loving everything I’m experiencing.

My friend and I dressed up for Halloween. I like to think of us as the hipster zombie apocalypse.

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Kate

Wellesley College

At the moment I write this, I am sitting in the basement of the Shakes Haus waiting to go onstage. The show is in full swing and so far we’ve been doing wonderfully. These past couple weeks have been comprised entirely of homework and midterms, but I’m still alive and for the most part very happy.

On Tuesday, I said to hell with homework and went into Boston to see Ani DiFranco! I left my camera at home and went alone, but that meant that I could squeeze my small self between people in the standing room. I was so close to her, guys; I was literally fifteen feet away from Ani Fucking DiFranco. She looked at me and smiled and that’s why I started crying and I didn’t stop for a full hour because she played The Whole Night and Joyful Girl and Napoleon and Overlap and Dilate oh my god Dilate. And she played most of her newest album except for my two favorites (J and Albacore) as well as two of her new things, which were both great. Everyone was singing along; there was this giant man standing next to me who was getting so into it!

Classy coffee with my roommate on my very first trip to Harvard Square!

I hadn’t gone on a self-date since I left Minnesota and I was long overdue. Aside from being nothing but busy or asleep for the past three months, I don’t know the area well enough to venture out alone (and even if I did, getting into Boston is kind of a hassle). For these reasons, everything I’ve done has been with other people. And while that’s nice, I really needed to take some time for me. My mental health aside, life continues on as normal. Hurricane Sandy didn’t really hit us much, although classes were cancelled (for the first time in 27 years, I hear).

There’s a statue near my dorm that looks like a vagina. So we climbed it.

The first snow also fell on November 7th. In typical Minnesotan style, I got really excited, put on my favorite sweater, made some hot chocolate… and then got very very homesick. But Wellesley in the snow is gorgeous so I returned to being blissfully excited as soon as I stepped outside. There was an impromptu snowball fight outside the Shakes Haus before rehearsal, I made snow angels, and my roommate and I went traying on Severance Hill at midnight.

I’m not very good at traying.

Her professor had said it was a tradition to go at midnight on the first snow, but it was just us and a group of very drunk kids who quickly dissipated. So we stood on top of this giant hill, looking over our beautiful campus with snow swirling around the streetlamps and all I could think was “I feel infinite.

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Claire

Wellesley College

The rugby season has ended. Who am I supposed to hang out with, now that I’m not with my teammates at least twelve hours a week? What am I supposed to do with all of this free time? (Trick question: There is no such thing as free time.)

My dad came and I was nervous for him to see me play, because doing well seems to matter more when he’s there. It’s been about ten years since the last gymnastics meet, and more than ten years since the last soccer game, but having him on the sidelines made me crave orange slices and Gatorade.

He was also quite wonderful when I came out to him. We were just inside the foyer of a tiny Thai food restaurant in Wellesley, shaking off our umbrellas, when I blurted out “So I’m seeing somebody. A girl.” When he told me “as long as you’re happy,” I felt a huge surge of relief flood through my body. It was something that my family had discussed before I came out to either of my parents — my brother used to make a lot of “Claire is obviously gay” jokes, and at one point he and my parents had a conference to discuss my sexuality.  I am very, very lucky that once I chose to come out, it was well received by both of my parents.

Friday afternoon, I took the Greyhound bus to New York City to go visit my mom. She was supposed to be running the marathon, which was cancelled right before her plane landed. Seeing my mom after three months was wonderful; I really missed her. I also got to see a friend from high school. We got Chipotle for old times sake and she showed me around her neighborhood. I also got to meet her dog, Han Solo.

I was in the room labeled MSNBC, but it was actually NBC, which sorely disappointed me, because I am more than a little bit in love with Rachel Maddow. The evening was tense — not only was the future of the country at stake, but also my American Politics professor had us give him betting recommendations. My honor as a political science student was on the line. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the country, I was incorrect in my predictions about the outcome of Montana’s hotly contested Senate race between the guy who ranches cattle and the guy with the impressive moustache.

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Next: Sunny, Nita & Lillian

Sunny

Ithaca College

A follow-up to the previous post: I made it to the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in NYC! The employees were in fact, very cute and joyful. Oh, and the ice-cream was awesome. In addition to that, my friend and I checked out Cubby Hole; an internet-approved, must-go-to lesbitastic bar in Manhattan. But we were too intimidated by the bouncer in front so we did a subtle turn around the corner and walked onward. I will actually step inside one day, I promise.

I also got the chance to tour the Met (fulfilling one of my life ambitions) where I died a thousand times walking around the European Paintings section. It was my Disneyland, or whatever land you can compare to that you didn’t want to leave when you visited as a kid. I was overwhelmed with genuine curiosity in everything. Unfortunately, I ran out of time before I could reach the Egyptian Art section, which I was looking forward to. My trip there confirmed my strong interest in Art History and I’m thinking of declaring my minor in the subject. I cannot wait to take my 20th Century European Art class beginning January. Below is a photo I took of people observing two of my favorite paintings: “Springtime” and “The Storm” by P.A. Cot. I realized afterwards when I looked at all the photos I took how beautiful it was that all these complete strangers were so peacefully sharing an admiration for these artwork.

Around the time I wrote my previous post, I was also getting to know a cool girl I had the luck of meeting through a friend. One night, when we were hanging out listening to The Beatles, she asked me, “Would you like a kiss?” to which I replied, “Thought you’d never ask.” She handed me a Hershey’s chocolate kiss. I thought the moment was adorable, even though I was squirming with embarrassment. Anyway, we’ve hit it off , despite that I didn’t expect to get myself in any situation of the sort in my first semester of college.

For Halloween, she suggested we dress as John and Yoko, which I thought was epic. But we had a switch of plans and ended up dressing as two very dapper people with no real reply to the question “what are you guys?” She wore a tie, I wore suspenders and a bowler hat. That night, we set off to a neat little house party. I was nervous, because this was my first appearance with my girlfriend—I’d never been with anyone who was out enough to introduce herself as my girlfriend in public. But I discovered that it didn’t matter how tense I was about it because she was there and so was I and we could hold hands and give each other glimpses that led to giggles and that was all that mattered.

Sunny and Slender Man (Not The Girlfriend!)

Things came to a sudden stop a few days ago. As much as I told myself I didn’t want to be involved in the first place, I’m glad it happened and I don’t regret a thing. But it does (for lack of a better word) suck now, and I’m sort of struggling with the emotional aftermath just because I haven’t been in this situation for a long time. On the bright side, now I can watch an excessive amount of Arrested Development and eat cartons of Ben & Jerry’s like it’s no one’s business. I mean, I’ve always done that but now I don’t feel like such a counter-productive twat.

At the beginning of November, I went to my first Kaki King concert in Syracuse. I hadn’t heard a lot of Kaki pre-show so needless to say, she blew my mind. We talked to her for a wee bit after the show too, which was exciting. I was looking forward to seeing Tegan and Sara in NYC mid-November, but I couldn’t get the tickets in time.

I am writing this as I sit on a pasty-colored bed in a cheap hotel shared with three other friends in NYC. It’s the beginning of Thanksgiving break and I am overly excited to have the proper amount of sleep I’ve been lacking in the last week. Cheers.

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Nita

The University of North Carolina Greensboro

Ah, North Carolina weather, where one day I’m totally comfy in jeans and a T-shirt and it’s a balmy 65 degrees outside and sunny, the next day it’s 32 in the morning and I’ve got my warmest sweaters on.

We’re drawing nearer to the end of the semester and I couldn’t be happier—I’ve signed up to take two Professions in Deafness classes in the spring, including a class called “Intro to the Deaf Community.” My signing has steadily improved, and I’ve made a few really close Deaf friends.

Me and my friend Yuri at the Pride! Halloween party

A lot of my time lately has been consumed by theatre — I was on Wardrobe Crew for our winter children’s show, Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells. The show was an absolute blast and reminded me of how much I love the theatre. I’m taking a costuming class right now and I think it’s going to be the death of my wallet: I’ve fallen in love with sewing so much I’m looking at buying a sewing machine and spending my money on fabric.

A pillowcase I made during Costuming

Speaking of theatre, we had our spring semester auditions this past week, and I got called back for two roles — an ensemble role in The Long Christmas Ride Home, and the female lead in a children’s play called If Only the Lonely Were Home. While I didn’t land either role (I was actually grateful not to land the ensemble one—for our callback, we had to simulate two puppets having lesbian sex), I was so excited about my first college callback that I didn’t even care.

Another hidden gem of Greensboro that I realize I have yet to mention is the wonderful, amazing spot known as Yum Yum’s. They were voted best homemade ice cream in North Carolina, and the reputation certainly lives up to its name. Located right across from campus, they’ve still got that small-town southern vibe, even for a college town—all they serve are hot dogs and ice cream (the red hot dogs, mind you) and you can get a kid’s cone of ice cream, a chili cheese hot dog, and a glass bottle of Cheerwine for only $5. It’s an amazing place and one I’ve definitely spent a lot of time at.

I’m already starting to feel myself changing after coming to college, and I have the sneaking suspicion I’m becoming, well, gayer. Or at least a more-gay version of the queer I already was. There’s a difference between how gay I was in high school, where my family was accepting but I didn’t know any other queers apart from my girlfriend and kept to myself; and here, where everybody and their mother knows I’m gay and no one gives a shit—I’ve got so many gay friends now that we dubbed our Thanksgiving party “Gaysgiving.” (It was a smashing, smashing success, and my fairy godmothers cooked the perfect turkey the first time around). I’ve also got way more access to a lot of queer literature here that I didn’t have in high school thanks to our extensive library—I’ve fallen in love with Jeanette Winterson, Alison Bechdel and especially Dorothy Allison; whose Southern upbringing makes me nostalgic for my own. My relationship with Rachel is definitely maturing and changing, but for the better — we’ve adjusted to the distance and learned not to take each other for granted anymore. She got accepted into Greensboro College, which is just up the road from me, but she’s still holding out for Vassar, so who knows what the future holds? All I can say is, I know I’m changing, and I think it’s for the better.

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Lillian

Vassar

These last few weeks have been kind of similar to tonight — juggling school work, fun, and setting aside time to freak out about my future. I’m not really sure what happened on campus but after October break life seems to be moving much faster here.

Coming back from October break was a bit weird; I just remember feeling an overwhelmingly empty. I don’t know if that had to do with the fact that when I arrived back at Vassar not many students had returned or if the initial novelty of college was starting to wear off. Whatever it was, I didn’t really like it. But, surely enough when classes started going again my emptiness was filled with much missed stimulating conversion, too many Chinese characters to memorize, unsatisfying but edible Deece (dining hall) food, and Halloween spirit.

Since we’re on the subject of Halloween, I should say that my first Halloween away from home was pretty awesome. Nothing can top going trick or treating in the rich neighborhoods of LA where people go hard with the decorations and are very generous with the candy, but Halloween at Vassar was quite fun. I went as Jimi Hendrix; I thought it was the easiest costume to put together with my hairstyle. It was either him or Rosa Parks but I decided against it because I’d have to straighten my hair and you know, I don’t think I could pull it off without things getting awk.

I’ve experienced my first snow fall, which came as a surprise to a lot of my east coast friends. My west coasters knew my strugs (struggles). While it snowed here, briefly for one day, we west coasters could be seen wearing full blown winter garb, gloves, hats, boots, some even snow suits. I’m sure I annoyed the crap out of my roommate when every five seconds I would squeal, “Look, those white things coming from the sky. What sorcery is this?” That was quite the experience and I’m actually excited for winter even though I’m pretty sure I will freeze to death.

Besides experiencing my first snow, I took a trip to the city with my friends. It wasn’t the first time I’ve gone to the city but it’s the first time I’ve gone with friends and done fun things. We walked around and went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and went to a semi fancy Italian restaurant where I spent all of my money and satisfied my cravings for good bread and pâté. We also randomly happened to walk by the hospital I was born in which was quite a surprise. It was weird seeing the place where I was born eighteen years later.

Anyways, these last couple days have been filled with random fire alarms (not funny when it’s five am and its 40 degrees outside. Still not funny the following day that 8:30 in the morning.), two month anniversaries (well that was only one day) and lots of gay related things. Last Saturday, the queer group I’m involved in organized the Yes Party! to show positive images of sexuality and gender identity. My friend and I got to design the wall which was pretty fun. And after Thanksgiving I’m looking forward to another Queer Lady Social which should be very gay and very entertaining. Well straddlers, thank you for listening to my kind of cracked out version of my college life. Until next time!

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Lesbianage

Lesbianage has written 9 articles for us.

20 Comments

  1. I love seeing so many other rugby-lovers here! It was also my first year playing, even though I’m a junior, and I love it! You’re right, it’s amazing how much extra time you ‘find’ to do homework once rugby season ends ;)

  2. I would like to award gentle loving noogies in the following categories:

    – 1st classy coffee in Harvard Square (welcome!)
    – Han Solo the pug
    – A relationship beginning and ending between AS posts. Chicks, man…
    – Gaysgiving

    Now get back to studying. Seriously.

  3. Nita – I went to college just down the road from you at the NC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. You should definitely make your way down 40 to see some of the shows (or go to the parties…) there. It is queer-central and W-S is a fun town! I saw several shows at UNCG and they were all great! I had forgotten about Yum Yums – now seriously craving!

  4. Claire – I’m so happy to hear that things went well with coming out to your dad! Kinda bummed that this is the way I get to keep up with your life instead of exchanging snippets of our dramatic existences in between crude puns on TinyChat. All the same, super thrilled that things are going great for you <3

  5. is it weird that i almost started crying while reading this? it just gave me a lot of feelings. i’m so glad things seem to be going well for all of you!

  6. I feel obligated to point out that the statue in Kate’s picture is meant to be “amber waves of grain” for Wellesley alumna Katharine Lee Bates, the namesake of the hall, who wrote “America the Beautiful.”

    …no I can’t even type it with a straight face IT’S A VAGINA IT’S A SEVEN-FOOT-TALL STONE VAGINA

    • The beauty of that is that Katharine Lee Bates was believed to have been life-long partners with Katharine Coman. It’s definitely a vagina…

  7. Yayyy, I’m glad the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop didn’t disappoint :D Though I’m not sure it ever could; all their employees are SO ADORABLE AND ATTRACTIVE.

  8. I totally made out with a girl INSIDE the vagina statue once!!!

    I’m still impressed we both fit in there at the same time.

Comments are closed.