Dear Readers,
If you are reading from the future (or from under a rock), this past Monday, we just celebrated the last total solar eclipse until 2044. For two hours, myself and what must have been every one of Brown’s undergraduates, graduates, faculty, their direct family, their extended family, and even a few pets gathered on the Main Green to look to the skies and bask in the magnificence of these far off celestial bodies crossing each other’s paths. This is the annual time when we all flock to the green to share a chat, a charcuterie board, or maybe something else (but not until next week). In the past two years, however, I have never passed something around with as much genuine excitement as I did those $5 eclipse glasses. I jumped and hollered and pointed—as if anyone had any doubts as to what was going on. I felt a level of awe that has left me wandering around campus empty, save for the tinge of regret I feel for not making the drive a couple hundred miles north to see the eclipse in totality. There will be a few more memorable days on the green in the coming weeks, but I fear that none may ever live up to the feeling of sheer amazement I felt on Monday.
This week in post-, our writers are reflecting on a few seminal experiences in their own lives. In Feature, our writer thinks about the cherry blossoms and how their annual bloom mirrors the transient stages of her life. In Narrative, one writer explores her relationship with alone time while the other writer recounts her time at boarding school and an experience with a UTI and McDonalds (correlation does not imply causation). In A&C, one writer reviews a book from her high school senior year that she is revisiting as she graduates Brown, and the other one thinks about growing older with Lizzy McAlpine. Rounding out this issue, one Lifestyle writer offers some timely tips on how to turn any dorm into a home, and the other one gives a guide for forming parasocial relationships around campus. And make sure to check out the first mini crossword from our talented new creator!
As I sit in the post- office writing this note to our lovely readers, I can’t help but think about the last solar eclipse I witnessed—on my tattered high school football field, after a sweaty morning of band camp, among a crowd of strangers whom I viewed with a mix of fear and discomfort. On Monday, I shared the sight on our beloved Main Green, after a morning of chatting with my closest friends in the world, among a crowd of brilliant, eccentric, fascinating people whom I feel honored to call my classmates. I hope all you amazing people find a moment this week to continue the momentum and feel awe, wonder, and a deep sense of internal questioning with this week’s edition of post-! Don’t worry, we won’t make you wait twenty years for the next one!
Looking longingly to the skies,
Joe Maffa
Editor-in-Chief
