Having a Ball(s)

The fabled week in June, May Ball Week. Just one of those quirky Cambridge things. (Pretty sure the 1st May Ball that Trinity College threw was in May, and it’s just stuck). As far as I know, only Oxbridge does these May Balls - at least to this level of extravagance. My original plan was to only attend two May Balls, but as fate would have it, I ended up attending three.

But before the fun could begin, I had to do my concentration presentation for Social Innovation. One last group presentation and I did it in shorts with a blazer of course. While walking around Cambridge that day, I overheard some undergrads chatting. One girl said to the other, “we will not have existentialism until after May balls”, which is the most Cambridge thing to overhear. But also, solid advice.

First up was Jesus May Ball! Jesus is maybe one of the more hidden gems in Cambridge - apparently they are the sportiest of all the colleges - or so I’ve been told. Jesus has an expansive college ground, and they used so much of it to put on a fantastic party. The queue took about twenty minutes to get through, but once you were in it was all worth it. Champagne to start with, and more food stalls than you had time to hit. There was face painting, musical acts, mini golf, bumper cars (dodgems in this part of the world), LASER TAG, and a terrifying carnival game. My biggest regret of the night? Not playing laser tag. 

There was a solid group of MBAs there so it was fun to explore and flit from group to group and activity to activity. The headliner was Kelis, best known for my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. After that, there was a Katy Perry cover and even a trumpet/saxophone group. 

While Abdul and Ruth were the only brave ones to try out the scary carnival game, we all made sure to get a turn on the bumper cars. There were seatbelts and they were needed. Some of bumps were more violent than others. At a certain point, the only activity remaining was a silent disco. There’s always a silent disco. We jammed out and enjoyed some chips, and before we knew it the sun was rising on a new day. At 5am we were herded to the survivor’s photo, which took way too long to take. We were standing there waiting for 30 minutes, which ended up being some pretty hurtful minutes - but only one tear was shed.

 

 

 

There was something peaceful about walking home in the sunrise and I immediately crashed as soon as I reached my room.

After a handful of hours, I woke up to do it all again. Had a much needed late lunch and a nice walk about of Cambridge to refresh. After a quick wardrobe change, Hadeel and I made our way to Rebecca’s to attend a joint Queens’ - Downing - St. John’s May Ball pregame. Naturally, we had to capture all the group pictures before we could head to Queens’!

Queens’ May Ball was definitely a different vibe than Jesus, but the offering was very similar. Queens’ does not have near as much land as Jesus, so everything was closer together. Which was nice, it was so easy to lose people at Jesus, but at Queens’ you were able to find your friends much easier. Queens’ had a lot of cover bands - Taylor Swift, Coldplay, and Queen (fitting). There was also a comedian, a chill space in the chapel with bean bags, and an absolute rave in the Old Hall. Oh and a teacup ride with I refused to get on. Like Jesus, Queens’ had bumper cars, an arcade, carnival games, and mini golf, but we had an inflatable slide instead of laser tag. I felt like a little kid - so much fun. 

It was more difficult to survive to the end of this May Ball, I blinked and it was 3am, but that still meant there were 2 more hours. Emily and I went to the arcade, got some frozen yogurt (twice), and then finally made our way to the rave to survive the wee hours. Unlike Jesus, Queens’ had their ish together when it came to the survivors photo…perhaps too much. Missed this one, because I was getting food and thought I had 30 minutes to get there. Oh well - made it into the MBA survivor photo.

 

 

 

It was a closer walk home this morning and once again, I immediately crashed. Slept later this time around, but still made sure to go on a walk about town, even stopped in a pub for a quick game of chess, which I did not win.

Before I knew it, it was time to head to King’s for the King’s Affair. The antidote to a typical May Ball. While I’ve never been to a musical festival, this felt like what I would have expected from a festival. Outfits of all different sorts - the people watching was absolutely fantastic here. King’s was probably the smallest offering of all, but they had a fun swing carnival ride and I appreciated that. 

Emily, Ruth, Jo, and I were dancing our way around King’s having way too much fun in the Bunker. Brandon joined when he wasn’t busy abandoning us ;) The food was quite good - Mac and cheese, Tiffin Truck, and yummy waffles. Time was also spent in the silent disco, because apparently this country is obsessed with this activity. This one flew by pretty quickly, but the end time came earlier. 4am was much easier to survive too.

 

 

  

 

It was neat to see these impressive and beautiful colleges in a new light. 

But I was ready to sleep. Thursday involved finishing up and turning in some essays - the latest I’ve ever been on a submission. We somehow had the final Happy Hour at The Anchor and while I was physically there, my brain was no where to be found. Afterwards, I went to The Punter to meet up with Michaelmas Stream 2 Gals for a farewell dinner. Vasilisa, Chira, Sukriti, Erum, Emily, and I. Such a fun group and I can’t believe we are parting ways already. 

Friday started with the final Director’s Address at Babbage - where we had our first Director’s Address in September. 

I was selected for the ‘MBA Collaborative Leadership Award’.  I am honored and touched more than my classmates can ever know. I truly love bringing people together, but if the people don’t want to be brought together it doesn’t matter. So I have to thank them for attending events, reading my copious emails, and having patience and grace for me through it all. I was shocked when I also was selected for the superlative ‘the one who brings everyone together’, very humbling.

So to the classmates who read this blog, thank you, thank you, thank you. Y’all are the key component. Y’all are the bubbles. Truly would not be the same otherwise.

After that we all slowly made our way to Jesus College for the Summer Soirée! We played lawn games, ate delicious food, and enjoyed each other’s company. This was probably the last time until April 2024 or July 2027 that a large majority of us will be in the same place at the same time. Which feels impossible. It’s beautiful how quickly people can become your people, but man does it lead to some hurt when goodbyes come around.

Saturday was a lazy day for me, I packed and snacked. In the evening I had to say a see you later to Emily which was sad. A very dear friendship and I’m gonna miss my fellow toad this summer.

I was not able to sleep Saturday night which was great since I left at 4am to head to the airport. Currently typing this whole thing on my flight to Iceland. Where I will spend a few days before I head back to the States briefly for a wedding, because of course it’s cheaper to fly to America from anywhere other than London!

I wish I could properly understand how I feel right now, so I could put words to it. I feel like I’m constantly on the verge of tears (pure exhaustion probably doesn’t help here). I’m not ready for it to be over. I’m not ready to say goodbye. I’m just not ready. Luckily, it isn’t over and I don’t have to say goodbye yet, but there’s no denying that everything’s changing again. Change is inevitable, but it’s never easy. I think I’m most scared of timezones right now. It is going to become more difficult to communicate with the people that I’ve leaned on for so long. The only people that can truly understand this bubble of a year and comprehend how that has changed us (sorry, had to).

A little bit of a break and a refresh will probably do me good. But my heart already misses Cambridge, and it’s only been a few hours. This does not bode well for August lol

Easter Term, you were a dream and a sprint all in one. On to the next term!