I have a confession to make. It is a fact that before I came to Yale, I had been rooting for an obscure college in Cambridge MA for four years. My sister graduated from Harvard in 2010, and being the proud younger sister who oh-so-often looked up to her, I wore my little maroon sweatshirt to the point of obnoxiousness during high school. But do not fret my Yalies! My allegiances were established to their rightful party long before acceptance letters began arriving in my inbox. In fact, in the early stages of college applications, I had long figured that Yale was, in general and for my specific circumstances, superior to Harvard in so many ways. Without going into detail, let's just say my favorite parts of the week are when I get to sing fully to my heart content to incredibly moving and beautiful music in a MIXED collegiate choir I warmly consider my family here at Yale.
For our annual Yale-Harvard Glee Club concert, I was anticipating quite a rush of memories heading back to Harvard. I had visiting a few times during my sister's time there, and I was excited to share with my friends places like The Boston Tea Stop (full of bubble tea and mochi!), Harvard Square, and the most-delicious-must-have-some-sort-of-drug-in-it-because-its-so-good frozen yogurt shop hidden behind Adams House. Though it's hard to admit it, I actually was missing the campus. In my memories I saw those places as if they were slightly glazed over with a golden hue. Maybe it was the excitement of visiting a college campus, or it was finally seeing my sister again after a few months, or maybe (most likely) it was the suspicious frozen yogurt, but it's suffice to say I was looking forward to visiting Harvard again. Yet this time, despite the fun and amusement I had reminiscing at Harvard, that golden hue I remembered was no where to be found at the places where I remembered them to be. In fact, I couldn't find it anywhere on campus! The only place that I can recall having felt that warm glow in the atmosphere at Harvard was when I was with the Yale Glee Club. Each and every one of our eighty members brought so much light, laughter, and joy into the room that it's hard to imagine a better place to be. I remember as a freshman feeling so accepted, so loved, and so lucky to be in a group like the Yale Glee Club. When we performed that night at Sanders Hall, I swear it was as if John Clayton had willed our performance into being. I felt the intensity of our unfaltering focus, and even in a room filled mostly with competitors, we still came out winning in the end. That hall may have provided the light, but it was the Yale Glee Club that shined.
Lisa Zhang