Today is my favorite holiday – Mountain Day.

At my alma mater of Mount Holyoke College in western Massachusetts, Mountain Day starts on a random weekday morning in the fall when the bells in the clock tower ring incessantly.  This deafening toll means that you are excused from classes, meetings, and responsibilities for the entire day.  People either sleep, study (even though, for once, it’s discouraged), or trek up the mountain.  Too lazy to climb the 940 feet?  A shuttle will take you to the top, where the MHC President dishes out ice cream for lunch.

I loved Mountain Day so much, I turned it into a monthly tradition.  Usually, I hiked with my roommate Julia and made a point of going every month we were at school – sometimes, that meant hiking at 5:00 on a December morning, sometimes we caught the last rays of light in April.  I roped other people into it as our schedules got harder to manage, and kept up the tradition my entire MHC career.

At the end of it all, I delivered this speech at commencement about how our college experiences, and our lives, resemble the waiting and the possibilities of Mountain Day.

Happy Mountain Day, fellow MoHos.  Hike that mountain for me!

Hiking buddies - Julia and me, dressed like champs

An early morning hike in winter

Mountain Day - Senior Year

Want to know more?  Read my Mountain Day post from last year!