Swarthmore is a lucid Dream of how the world could be 

 the first place I ever truly felt like I belonged

All your faces paint a portrait of a new reality 

And your minds wind in tandem to a different song

when I came here freshman year,

I didn't just make friends with people who were like me.

I lived on the same floor as the entire lacrosse team 

And despite a false mask of ball caps 

they welcomed me with open arms.

And over and over again, I found myself falling in love

with these people, with their brilliant minds, with their kind hearts,

And I genuinely believe there

 is no better place in the world for me than Swarthmore College.

It's where I discovered

that being myself was not a malignancy. 

I think that every group

had their own little proclivities,

but we all came together to create this strange, Interesting place.

The thing about Swarthmore is you're not gonna find the typical  kind of people

Here we are a little weird, in a beautiful, magnificent 

 sort of way,

 here the little weird people

 with little weird passions

 make big changes with their big dreams. 

Here you find the next great

 herpetologist specializing in hellbender salamanders,

or the guy who wins the Nobel Prize

for combining

the mechanics of

Bay blades,

with the theory of special relativity

And discovering something about

 the way black holes function. 

That's the kind of people

who go to Swarthmore,

the

overwhelmingly and world-shatteringly Brilliant

and unique.

Because Swarthmore is a lucid Dream of how the world could be 

Sometimes this place

places a crushing weight on your bones.

It's heavy. 

It makes you work.

You do not

get out of here without a little pain

 and a lot of grade deflation.

This college doesn’t simply teach math or history;

 it teaches us that the fate of this human experiment

 is in our hands, 

and that the weight of the world is a heavy heart to carry. 

College isn't easy and you won't always be okay

 the days aren't always Breezy

 sometimes you have to pray

Sometimes the darkness gets you

 and sweeps your joy away

 but someone always stops 

if they realize you're there 

because the people at Swarthmore actually care

 when I was in The Darkest Hour

 and the world was stained to Grey

 my hallmates were there 

 to tell me it would be okay

 and I really believe  them

 because for the first time in years

 I felt like somebody cared that I was here 

and I'm eternally grateful

 for every Ben and Mike

 that dragged me out of the darkness 

and into the light 

and showed me more love and compassion

 then I had ever dreamed 

and showed me that people

 aren't always as they seem.

the brighter days are coming

 they're just over the horizon

They’re  coming in waves

 they're bringing The Tides In

The whole universe conspired to get us here 

And so we must go forward with faith 

Not fear

Some administrations  will try to upend us some will silence us some will suspend us 

But Swatties do not stop they ford each river

 sail each sea,

Until judgements are just 

Until palestines  free

Because Swarthmore is a lucid Dream of how the world could be 

College is brief  it's fleeting It passes

You Chase all your dreams 

maybe Miss some classes 

you will learn so much in these four years

you're given the tools to build yourself a new

 to carve away at your old self

  like chipping marble

 until you reveal the true shape of your soul 

 semesters feel like years

 and years feel like seconds

 And you’ll probably gain 15 pounds

 There's no getting around that one. 

I am now a straight B student

 and I'm totally okay with that 

because anywhere else 

it would have been an A

 and I don't regret a single Choice

 I've made while I was here 

well let me clarify that I regret several choices I made while I was here

 but I'm glad I made them

 because bad choices often are good memories

 and I will cherish those bad choices

 and those bad grades

 because they showed me that

 I'm allowed to be imperfect

 I'm allowed to stumble and fall

 and sprain my ankle while blackout drunk and doing the Cotton Eye Joe

 and I'm allowed to laugh at myself

Because in college, your friends laugh with you

 not at you 

And they pick you up when you fall

 And drag you back to your dorm

And put a backpack on you 

so you don’t choke on your own vomit

 And they bring you breakfast the next morning

 Because they love you 

Every point I lost on my grade 

is a point gained in my life story 

Every bit of joy is a rich umami

that coats your tongue

 Bask in the Bs 

Because As looks good on a transcript,

 But a B goes down much better in a memoir.

you're surrounded by your people

 And you're full of mediocre sci chinese food

 and you're packed like sardines in a can called Willets

Where there's always something new to try

 always someone saying hi 

and an ever approaching  too final Goodbye 

Despite this Swarthmore is a lucid Dream of how the world could be 

My college experience was not perfect 

but it was perfect for me 

 I said yes to new experiences

 yes to new dreams 

in this beautiful Arboretum

 that's Sparkles and gleams

 the sharples food may be greasy 

and the gym may be far

But here we hunt pterodactyls

 and be who we are

I don't have it all figured out

 but I know one thing is true 

It's a Come As You Are and do as you do

 I really do think I am a better person 

because you all are in my life 

we did homework together 

we drank together 

we had existential crises together

 and for the first time in my life 

I didn't feel like an outcast

 I had a community 

 Swarthmore is a state of mind 

something we are, not just do

 and my friends, it is an honor to be Swarthmore with you.

The mice in the dorms 

are from all walks of life 

They eat a wide variety of crumbs 

And it's close to impossible to escape them.

Someone sleeps in the lounge to avoid the mice in their room

And The mouse comes to the lounge to keep them company

 They travel through the heating ducts

 like it's a highway

 They show no mercy and no fear.

 They will look you in the eyes 

and eat your lunch

 They fear no man or god

 I saw a mouse in my room

 on the last week of school

I yelled at him to go away

 and he yelled back

Squeak squeak! Which translates to:

 I was here first! 

I have been here since before you were admitted

 And i will be here after you're gone! 

Get used to it.

 And i heeded his warning.

That mouse was in charge 

And i was but a visitor in the home he had known for generations. 

Swarthmore is meeting your people for the first time.

You incredible people  

You make me think in poetry

You are A Corrugated metal melody 

Swarthmore is a paradise of noise and math and memory

The sweetest Youthful madness 

Shotgunning dopamine

 like it's so college that you are taking my breath away 

and I didnt say enough while we were all together

but my god you are ethereal. 

Know i will remember you 

Know that i am astonished by you 

In these last moments 

I feel a joy i never felt 

in all of highschool 

That i am young and people are kind

That in McCabe and Paces there is something devine

 in some ways it was paradise. 

But in every way it was home. 

And it feels like the end of the world because i mean, look at the world!

But in my heart i know that if you all are the people out there 

Making the world happen 

It might actually be okay.

And here We are all together for one last time

 I leave in the morning. 

College ends in the morning 

I say a silent prayer that I get to keep 

all the Amazing friends I made here

That we won’t drift apart as I fear

You have left a mark on my heart and mind

 You are unforgettable no matter the time

Because Swarthmore is a lucid Dream of how the world could be 

One Friday night 

 I went back to Willlets 3rd

 It felt like walking in a dream 

The ceiling seemed lower 

The hallways were the same 

With different names

 And someone else lived in my dinky dorm

 And there was a girl 

Sitting in my chair

With my signature yellow sweater on

 And the same way

 I used to do my hair

 And I realized in that moment 

That even though my time at swarthmore

had come and gone 

Swarthmore was infinite 

And never ending

Swarthmore was a dream 

A lucid paradise to me

 There would always be a young girl

 With too much heart

 falling in love with Her neighbors

 Learning all their names

 Every passing year different 

but the same

 She would sit listening

 To every piece of lore 

And even when the dream was over

She would always love Swarthmore.