Senior accounting and finance major
It started out as a pretty regular Thursday night.
Before long, it wasn’t regular at all.
My friends and I were walking back to Queen Anne’s Hall from “Fancy Panda.” Forty or so of us had dressed up fancily and journeyed to Panda (R.I.P.), where we covered the tables in fancy tablecloths, cutlery and tea lights and shared a decadent (and budget-friendly) feast. Still fancily attired, we were carrying back our makeshift chandelier and leftover supplies. Right as we were about to enter the basement door, she passed by.
She was a curious individual and we were a curious sight, so she asked, “What is all this?” The only response I could think of was, “How much time do you have?”
“Plenty!”
Over the next hour, I explained in exquisite detail everything in the past year and a half that led to that night’s feast. We talked about my friends, the shenanigans we got in and, of course, our love for Panda.
After I finished, we kept talking. We got up from the bench by that door and started walking around the campus. I showed her some of my favorite hidden spots on the campus, and we discussed our lives, our majors and the meaning of life. At the end of the night, we agreed to go on another walk the following week.
And we did. And then we did again the week after. We would have weekly adventures in which we’d explore the entire campus, searching for pretty gardens, picturesque views or other hidden treasures. We reached a point at which we had explored the entire outdoor area of the campus — and then we did it again.
In the time since — over two years — we’ve stayed in relatively close contact, except when she went abroad or I got swamped in work. From that one random encounter born of simple curiosity, I made one of my closer friends.
It started out as a regular night. But six hours, a feast, a story and an adventure later, it became one of the most memorable nights of my life.
Ezra Fishman is a senior accounting and finance major. He can be reached at efishmandbk@gmail.com.
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