By the time I had finished high school, I had a pretty good sense of myself, my school and my city. That would all undergo an upheaval when I moved 3000 miles away for college, to a place I knew no one, to a town I had visited only once. What could have possessed me, you might ask? My sophomore year in high school we were to take a large book about colleges, review it, and pick one we would like to attend. I saw that the hardest college for a girl to be admitted was Radcliffe, so with the snarky attitude of a student rebelling at an assignment, I wrote about it. When asked to explain why, I replied “it is impossible to get into.”
Meanwhile, I made plans to attend Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, the school my parents, my aunts and uncles and my cousins had all attended. I would be admitted as a “legacy” with no problem. I had visited the place, liked it, had relatives near by, and was set to go there in the fall of 1964. But, as a continuing spite action against that stupid assignment, I also applied to Radcliffe. What was the harm?
Yikes. Radcliffe practiced “geographic distribution” in their admissions, a fact I didn’t know. They always took one girl from Oregon. Almost no girls applied from there. I was accepted. Now I had to go. No one would accept my turning down the acceptance.
With a large trunk packed, I boarded the train to Boston, a five day journey from Oregon. I arrived, tired, sweaty and dirty, to a “welcome sherry” get together with the college president in my dormitory. And, for those who don’t know, Radcliffe existed as dormitories only. I was about to start my studies at Harvard University and all my classes were to begin in two days.
Wow! You have guts!!! I hope you will continue the saga.
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It’s coming in the next few days.
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Yay!
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I don’t know anything about Radcliffe, but it sounds like one of the ‘better’ universities to me. Travelling 3,000 miles to go to college was bold. If I had done that in Europe, I would have been studying in Siberia! Or New York, in the other direction.) 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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It would have been a lot like going to New York for you. A totally different world.
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Wow, what an adventure. I didn’t realize that Radcliffe was/is a part of Harvard?
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Me either.
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Be careful what you wish for! What an opportunity though.
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What a great story, Elizabeth! I am anxiously awaiting what comes next.
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Bravo for applying and even more so for going.
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It is always surprising that the unexpected, little twists of fate determine so much of our lives.
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Brave girl! Although it probably felt like a great adventure at that age Elizabeth…
God’s plan are not always our plans are they! 😉
Bless you,
Jennifer
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In my life they almost never overlap! Fortunately He has better ones.
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That He does Elizabeth! 😀
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That He does Elizabeth! 😀
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I admire your tenacity; I sure didn’t have your confidence at that age.
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I really didn’t either as it turns out.
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Wow! That took a lot of courage…I’m looking forward to your next post about this!
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Thanks.
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What a story, Elizabeth!!
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Wow! As Pete says, it would be a similar distance as people from England going to Harvard. But wouldn’t Ohio also have been a long distance away?
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Yes. But the culture would have been more familiar. The Midwest and the West are more alike and “behind the times” compared to the East coast.
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Glad i’ve picked up at the start of this seminal chapterin your life, Elizabeth. This must have been a huge change for you.
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In many ways. As I write I keep remembering more shocks.
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As you remember, are you shocked all over again at what you coped with, Elizabeth?
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I find I have deep compassion for my young self. It is a satisfying experience to recognize my struggles at that age and know I got through.
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That’s a lovely image – to have, as you look back, such compassion for your young self. So many of us (well me, at least) look back harshly on our younger selves. I shall take a leaf from your book and approach the past differently.
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It is a redemptive practice and I use it continually as I look back.
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Overwhelming but so exciting, Elizabeth. What a marvelous opportunity for you. Sorry for reading your latest posts backwards. I hope the comments make sense.
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I don’t care what order you read them in! I am just always happy to read your comment and see your posts.
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