Today, I asked Sophia and Shannan to be my garden party girls!! It took some planning, but with the help of my friends and my first years, I was able to do it and still surprise them.

At 7:40 pm all the first years met in my room with their lanterns. This was quite the feat, but luckily I have a single, so we were all able to squeeze. Two of my first years had volunteered to be look outs for Shannan and Sophia, so they were outside of their respective rooms. The rest of the first years took a flower each, and joined three of my best friends and I at the back stairwell.

I had each first year line up in a row along the staircase, so that way when Shannan and Sophia walked up the stairs, they would be greeted with a friendly face, and a single flower. We waited a while for the two lookouts to lead Shannan and Sophia over. When they were at the bottom of the stairwell, I hid behind my friends who were stationed at the top so they couldn’t see me.

Each first year gave them a flower, and when they got to the top, I gave them the rest of the bouquet, and asked if they would garden party for me- and they said yes!

I think Shannan was more surprised than Sophia, because she sat on the floor for a bit. It was so cute, we all hugged, and my amazing friends were taking photos for memories.

At the end of it all, I am the happiest camper. I can’t believe that my surprise actually worked, and I can’t believe that all of my first years were so great and did such an amazing job. This is one of the Bryn Mawr traditions that really cements for me my upcoming graduation, so I’m really overjoyed that I was able to plan something that reminds me of some of my other favorite traditions.