As a Belle, one of the most exciting things about being initiated into your college, is Domerfest. For those of you who don't know, Domerfest is when Saint Mary's, Holy Cross, and Notre Dame freshmen all meet up across the street to Notre Dame. A year ago when I had heard about Domerfest, I thought it sounded like so much fun, but when I was actually here and the day had come, I was nervous... I mean, this was the first time that I had seen a guy in 5 days (all girls school if you don't know)!
Before Domerfest, every Freshman receives a T-shirt so you know what school they are from. Thankfully, Saint Mary's T-shirt was actually adorable! It was a lime green and on the back, there was a mason jar full of flowers that said welcome home across a banner. All of my fellow sisters all exclaimed in admiration at the shirts and all hurriedly, rushed back to their dorms to put it on. Soon, every Freshman on campus had to go downstairs to Alumnae Green to get to know one another. As I walked with some newly made friends, I saw that there was already a huge group of girls all in a line cheering everyone and giving high-fives as we made our way down into the tent. It felt like a sorority rush. Once everyone was settled, we played a little game called Playfair. Little did I know, that Playfair is actually a lot like speed-dating. So, the point was in each category to meet different people and find common interests or tell truths within a category. Some of the categories included your hometown, birthdays, pets, and what your name means. We then sat among each other and we were given a few performances by a cappella groups - including Saint Mary's Bellacappella and Notre Dame's Undertones. When the Undertones, took the stage all of the girls were fixated on the boys because we hadn't seen a guy in awhile. After the performances, we headed off to Notre Dame!
The walked seemed long and every Belle's feet were hurting, but our minuscule troubles were forgotten when we saw what lay ahead. Hundreds of boys awkwardly awaited and most of the Saint Mary's girls plowed right in. We, of course, all forgot that we weren't the only girls there and it wasn't long before we heard some chatter from the girl Domers. Nonetheless, we paid them no mind and continued to mingle. I wasn't really that into meeting the guys and some Belles and I met some people along the way but headed straight to the dancing. There were other activities to do with lots of blow up slides and amusement park type of rides and free food. I came to notice that the speed-dating we did before Domerfest was actually what Domerfest was like between the guys and girls. Yes, future Belles who may be reading this, Zahm boys do go around asking for every girl's Snapchat or number. If you don't feel comfortable giving your number, (smart girl) change one digit in your actual phone number and all should be well. I met a couple of guys and a couple of girls, but I'm only talking to one of the people I actually met at Domerfest. While Domerfest was awkward, it is a tradition among Domers, Belles, and Saints.
