A List of the Most Bitter, Sweet, and Bittersweet Things About My Time at Wellesley as Summarized by Headlines of Counterpoint Articles I Didn’t End Up Writing
(in chronological order)
By Parker Piscitello-Fay ‘22
Counterpoint’s September 2018 cover. Photo by Artemisia Luk ‘21.
No Really, Where Am I?
(a case for more signage on Wellesley College’s campus and admitting you don’t have everything figured out)
An Ode to the Compassion and Honesty with which Esteemed Poetry Professor Dan Chiasson Approaches Discussions of Odes
It’s Tuesday, November, 2018 at 3:29 pm and the Idea of Shadow Grading is the Only Thing Holding Me Together
(why we need to talk about first years when we talk about Wellesley’s stress culture)
People React Weirdly When I Tell Them I Have a Job
(why this is and what this weirdness means)
So Everyone Just Assumed I Knew About Sleet
(fake spring is worse than winter, and I think I can prove it)
Counterpoint’s October 2019 cover. Photo by Hope D’Erasmo ‘21.
Do I Need to Change My Class Schedule, All the Orgs I'm In, and My Major or Is It Just A Monday and Cloudy Outside?
An Ode to Honey Roasted Peanut Butter
An Ode to My Roommate
An Ode to the Rotting Vegetables My Roommate Hid From Me in Our Room for Weeks
I’m Studying Abroad Next Fall And It’s Definitely Going to Happen
(it didn’t)
I Cannot Wait To Spend All of Spring Semester With My Friends
(I didn’t)
When We Eventually Return to Wellesley College, Everything Will Be As We Left It
(it wasn’t)
Counterpoint’s September & October 2020 cover. Photo by Sage Wentzell-Brehme ‘21.
This is Just to Say: I Really Miss Honey Roasted Peanut Butter
I Haven’t Become Better at Procrastination; I Have Become More Creative About It
(on doing laundry and pandemic-era burn out)
The Science Center is Beautiful and I’ll Barely Get to Use It
(a metaphor for my time at wellesley and, perhaps, life itself)
I May Be Depressed, But Check Out My Sweet New Pair of Pants!
All I Do All Day Is Say Hi To People
(a case for acquaintances, their little waves, and their smiles)
Counterpoint’s October 2021 cover. Photo by Elizabeth Weaver ‘25.
Do I have a Rough Draft of My Thesis or Does It Have a Rough Draft of Me?
(the physical, emotional, and mental ramifications of an “enriching” academic endeavor)
Everyone and Everything Needs to Get In My Suitcase
(what am I going to do without my friends, Barbara, the seemingly hundreds of acquaintances I say hi to everyday, the English Department, Counterpoint, my friends, Lulu, Honey Roasted Peanut Butter, Clapp’s Librarians, Duck Day, the sound of laughter in the hallway on wednesdays at 10:42 pm EST, my friends, texts that say, “Want to work on the pset together?”, Hoop’s C3, early spring mornings when the campus is bright, beautiful, and silent, El’s Ginger Tea, late night popcorn, overhearing the weirdest discussions, Bates’s 3rd floor common room, Bates’s 2nd floor common room, fuck it, all of the common rooms, the screams before finals, the sighs after finals, both my deep hatred and devout protectiveness of the geese, the bells, and the particular, beautiful sound of half-asleep people shuffling into early classes post-grad)
Parker Piscitello-Fay ‘22 (ppiscite) (she/her) is going to miss Wellesley and all of the bittersweet moments it has brought her. From the May 2022 issue.