One of My Mountains

As I’ve mentioned before, I feel like I have at least partial ownership of several literal mountains in this world. One of them in a mountain in Tennessee, or really it’s a plateau on top of a mountain, halfway between Nashville and Chattanooga on I-24. You take the Monteagle exit and hang a left (if you’re coming from Chattanooga) and drive on through the beautiful stone gates of The University of the South, also known as Sewanee.

Sewanee is my alma mater, and I have lots of fond memories of there. My brother also went to Sewanee, 10 years before I did. We’re 10.5 years apart in age, and I’ve always looked up to him. When I was making my college decision, it was difficult for me—I didn’t want my parents to compare me at Sewanee to my brother at Sewanee. Being a person who idolized my big brother, I assumed he’d made amazing grades and that I wouldn’t be as good. I had yet to learn that grades aren’t what makes the college experience truly the college experience. That’s a post for another time. Anyway, my first experience at Sewanee was at my brother’s graduation from Sewanee, when I was all of eight years old. I remember going hiking to a gorgeous waterfall off-campus and seeing these towering, old buildings made of stone that reminded me of England, and people walking around wearing flowing black academic gowns. I was enthralled.

I did eventually make the correct decision to attend Sewanee, and I loved every minute of my (way too short) four years there. Sewanee is a small, prestigious, private Episcopalian liberal arts college that is known for both its gorgeous campus—over 13,000 acres, and its amazing faculty. The faculty at Sewanee actually care about their students. They take time to get to know you and many will invite students over for dinners at their houses.

During my tenure at Sewanee, I lived in four different dorms, had classes in just about every academic building, walked all over the campus, got my academic gown my freshman year and kept it all the way through graduation, joined an amazing sisterhood of diverse women, and was involved in many clubs and activities. Yet I feel the best part of Sewanee is the community feeling and the traditions that unite us all. The traditions at Sewanee are deep-rooted and ancient. People wear their academic gowns, reminiscent of Oxford gowns, to class and to meetings of the Order of the Gownsmen, or OG. People actually say hello to each other as they pass on the paths, whether they know each other or not. There’s a stairwell in which everyone goes up the one labeled “out” and down the one labeled “in.” This stems from the time that Sewanee was an all-male military academy, and the future officers all carried swords on their belts. If they went up the in and down the out, their swords would clang against the metal railing with every step, creating a huge cacophony of noise. Hence, up the out and down the in. Every person who at some point in time has lived at Sewanee has a Sewanee angel. This angel follows the person around when they are beyond the gates of Sewanee, which is also known as the Domain. If you’re off the Domain, your angel follows you around and keeps you safe until you return to the Domain. When you leave the gates, you tap the roof of your car (or the helmet you’re wearing if you’re on a bike) to let your angel know that it’s time to follow you. When you return, you do the same, releasing your angel for the time you’re on the Domain. These traditions as well as the small size of the school and the caring of the faculty come together to make Sewanee a tight-knit community. You know just about everyone by their face if not their name, and you can find something in common with everyone, even if it’s that you both got a bad grade on Raushman’s final in your MWF 8am English class.

Sewanee people are kind of like a cult. If you went to Sewanee, you either love it or hate it. Those who hate it hate it with a passion and usually leave because they detest it so much. It’s not for everyone. Those of us who love it, however, love it with an unparalleled passion. It’s hard to explain Sewanee to people who’ve never been there, but Sewanee people will spend hours trying, to no avail. When you get two Sewanee people together in a group of people, we’re really annoying, because we’re forever talking about things people don’t get because they’re not Sewanee people. I apologize on behalf of all of us—it’s not something we do on purpose, it just happens because we love Sewanee that much, and we have to share that overflow of love with other people who Get It. When we get together in large groups, well, we’re positively incorrigible. I apologize for this as well; again, acknowledge that we can’t help it, forgive us, and move on.

Another thing I love about Sewanee is its ability to be Very Serious and at the same time let you know that they’re Not Really All That Serious. We have this gorgeous chapel that’s really more like a cathedral, with these beautiful stained-glass windows. My favorite stained-glass window is one in which, in the very bottom corner, there is a little depiction of a VW bug. I always show this to people who visit Sewanee and seem a little intimidated by its Seriousness. Another thing is the official prayer (yes, it’s an Episcopalian school; it has its own official prayer). The end of it goes like this: “…and a never-failing succession of benefactors. Amen.” Come on. How can you not love that?

Y’all, I love this school so much and it means so much to me that I’m even getting married there. Of course, this is not just my decision—my fiancé is also a Sewanee graduate, and he loves it just as much as I do. I love that he’s a Sewanee grad, because he Gets It. I don’t have to try and explain Sewanee to him. Some of my Sewanee friends complain about their significant others not Getting It about Sewanee and calling us a cult; I consider myself very lucky to be marrying someone who understands Sewanee.

I think I’ve spent enough time rambling about my wonderful institution and alma mater, one of those mountains I consider at least partially mine. Sewanee will always hold a special place in my heart. For the next post, I’ll talk more about my fiancé, one of my favorite topics of conversation. For now, I shall leave you with the Alma Mater:

Alma mater, Sewanee. My glorious mother ever be. I will give my all to thee, God bless thee to eternity. Thou canst make me worth the while, o guide and shelter me. And all my life, through storm and strife, my star thoul’t be.