Well color me a happy Vdubz because last week was NEW GIRL WEEK!!!!
New Girl Week is the most magical time of year (besides Candlelight Concerts, the full moon, and the great month of October) when the chorus welcomes a batch of new girls for the coming semester and throws a multitude of events to celebrate and integrate our new baby giraffe singing angels (although I think the old girls have more fun than the new girls).
It all started on a beautiful Sunday night, the air crisp with a sprinkle of fall (did someone say FALL???). Members gathered in the old hallowed halls of Cabell and took turns calling the new girls to congratulate them and inform them that they were to be brought to the hall for a magical evening. This batch of precious musical goddesses seemed to be more modest and mysterious than previous years as no one answered their phones, but after managing to get in touch we were able to bring them back to welcome them into our waiting arms.
While they waited in tentative suspense, we did what college students do best: an icebreaker. This semester’s question was to choose either one’s spirit animal or representative movie/tv/book character. There were thrilling responses of Leslie Knopes, Jessica Days, Hermione Grangers, and really Kate, a narwal?? After bonding over such information, we ushered the girls outside the hall where our brothers-in-song, the Virginia Glee Club, sang some of their classic tunes, passersby no doubt reveling in the magic of the moment.
Soon after, following a bit of jiggery-pokery on the part of the chorus, we treated the new girls to a classic IHOP feast, and by golly, maybe it was the joy of the day or the humor and patience of our server Shawn, but it was a meal I shall not soon forget.
In the name of brevity I will quickly summarize the rest of the week. Bodos bagels at OCH with Glee! Pav dinner! And movie night, where members gathered to view Moana! Unfortunately I had to say ‘MoaNAH’ to some of these events (night classes are but a tragic part of my life) but I am as positive about their wonderfulness as I am dreadful of my Econometrics lab.
But the week culminated in one of my favorite nights of the semester…NeW GiRl NiGhT!!!
There is food, there is music, there is cat, there is surprise, there is laughter, there is tradition.
I have never seen such delicious morsels as I saw that night: a fruit platter, mushroom casserole, mac and cheese, vegan pasta, roasted vegetables, pizza, cookies, brownies, muffins, delayed fried rice, it was HEAVEN. Towards the end of the meal, Alex passed out binders that will be life-defining for these new ladies, containing all of the information, symbols, and traditions of the chorus (I won’t disclose these here because the Glee Club could see). But relationships are one of the best parts of the chorus so what came next was truly wondrous, as Bigs and Littles found their way to each other, marking the start or the growth of cherished families in the group (not just moms either, plenty of dads present). For the culmination of the evening, we filed outside to the street where, after a close call with members of the Glee Club trying to infiltrate our traditions, we took turns breaking open a celebratory piñata.
I remain only with my memories now, as the present and future are no longer New Girl Week, but I will always remember the love and laughter shared in these cherished occasions. Until next time, this is M, signing off.
Virginia Women's Chorus 