At the end of my first year I was worried I wouldn't like house life. Little did I know that within two months Eliot would already feel like home. 

Towards the end of your first year, every student goes through a process called blocking, in which they pick up to seven other people to live in the same house with for the next three years. That group, also known as a blocking group, is randomly sorted into one of the twelve undergraduate houses. Though you get sorted with them, they don’t have to be your roommates. Instead, they’re a friendly face in the dining hall, or in the common spaces of your house. 

To start, let’s go back to Housing Day. Housing Day, as the title suggests, is when first-years learn which house they’ll be in for the next four years. Upperclassmen “dorm-storm” freshmen, which entails dressing up with as much house spirit as possible, knocking on doors, and celebrating the good news with us! After congregating in the yard, everyone goes to Annenberg Hall, the first year dining hall, to celebrate, with houses taking over sectors of tables. To end the day, everyone has their first dinner in their official house, the place that they’ll be living for the next 3 years. 

I was placed in Eliot House, which I would say is the best house. The energy of the people in my new house is unrivaled. Just being there for one meal started to cement the idea that everyone, staff and students, care so much about our well-being. One of the best examples of Eliot’s exemplary house pride is the Straus Cup. 

Ultimately, the Straus Cup is the Scare Cup (Monsters Inc. reference!) of House intramurals. I wasn’t aware of it at first, but the race for the cup was an all-or-nothing situation for Eliot. The 25-26 academic year was Eliot's first year in transition housing, as Eliot's main buildings are currently under renovation. Because of this, there were worries that the House culture would change, so the Straus cup was used as a unifier of Eliot.

After a long volleyball game, our victory was secured. We went to celebrate down by the Eliot construction grounds, and held a reception a few weeks later to celebrate our first win in 23 years. As a first year, it was a really cool experience to see the bonding and overall house spirit that was shown in the weeks leading up to the win. Everyone pitched in, whether it be by signing up for daily walks, playing team sports, or even just providing moral support! 

It was really interesting for me to see how genuine the people are in Eliot. From the deans and their family hosting a claw machine, to the upperclassmen giving swing dancing lessons, there was always something to bring the house together. 

At the end of the year, we had Fête, which is Eliot’s annual spring formal. Due to the renovations, it was held in the Bright-Landry Hockey Arena, but normally it is held in the Eliot House courtyard. Leading up to it, there were so many different events, including a movie night and an arts and crafts night, and they were really nice ways to begin to make upperclassmen friends in my new house. Out of all of the Fête week events, I think my favorite was the annual strawberry dipping celebration. I didn't know this at the time, but essentially, the whole house gets together and makes chocolate-covered strawberries to serve at Fête. This year, we had so many trays that it was hard to find space for them!

But wait: here’s something special. This year, Fête's theme was loosely inspired by the Princess and the Frog, and so it was Louisiana themed. I'm originally from Louisiana, so when I heard I was over the moon! At the time I had been really homesick, so the theme was even more of a sign that I was going home, or really, going Dome.

Floreat Domus de Eliot, 

Grace