A Love Letter to the Graveyard at Night

Ellen E

I have come back to Oberlin this year

after being abroad all of last year, and in

returning I have found that I feel like a

freshman again. The halls are filled with

people I don’t recognize, Decaf is orga-

nized completely differently, and I have to

get used to how much communal showers

suck again.

Something I like to do, if I’m walking

around Oberlin, is imagine that I feel the

same way I did when I first got to Oberlin.

When I didn’t have a strong mental map

of the place, and getting lost was as easy as

approaching my dorm from the opposite

direction when it was getting dark outside.

And I think there’s something great about

the freshman experience that will make

you follow someone you’ve just met, who

assures you they know where they’re going

even though you’ve both only been here

about a week, into a graveyard that doesn’t

have any lights in it.

It’s exciting.

So, I’ve been thinking a lot about what

I did as a freshman. I mean, I cried a lot

during the first couple weeks, but other

than that… the thing, or rather place, that

has really stuck out to me has been the

Graveyard by the Arb. While there, I have

talked about everything from what classes

I’m taking this semester to what is inside

the mausoleums there to if we’re about

to get murdered by ghosts. Secretly, I still

want to break into a mausoleum just to see

what’s in there. I’m less concerned about

the ghosts now, senior wisdom I guess,

and, as the old saying goes, you can’t get

killed by ghosts if you’re in a group.

When I really think about it, I haven’t

actually been to the Graveyard as many

times as I feel like I have. Freshman year

I went two or three times, sophomore

year I went twice (one time was to film a

very haphazard short film during Winter

Term), and this year I’ve been twice so far.

(I’ve gone a third time to write this article.

Originally, I was going to write this article

at the graveyard, but it actually is kind of

scary if you’re there alone.)

Graveyards are already “spooky” during

the daytime, but they’re even better at

night. You’re procrastinating homework

to hang out with friends and you can’t

totally see where you’re going and may-

be that weird howling noise in the dis-

tance really is a wolf and you’re about to

get eaten alive, and it’s frightening and

adrenaline inducing and in a way it’s a

quintessential college experience much

like sitting on the grass in the sun maybe

reading a book.