At Milton, we find community and connection in many different ways. Whether through friendship, classes, clubs, teams, or dorms, community is an integral part of our school life, and I have always valued it. At the same time, our understanding of community is sometimes hard to see or fully grasp, especially when we are busy with schoolwork and other competing commitments. One day last November, I discovered that hidden strength in a way I could never have expected. I’ll spare the details, but I ended up with a broken ankle that required surgery going into fall break.
When I came back to school in December, a lot had changed. Everything I had been looking forward to, whether it was getting on the indoor courts to prepare for spring tennis or a whole season of skiing, was out of the question. It also was in that first week of December that I started to realize how much of school life I had taken for granted. I never really thought about how large our campus was until I needed to make the commute from Ware Hall to the ACC on crutches. I was never particularly concerned about daily weather forecasts until the first blizzard hit and I realized how easy it would be to slip—and how tense that made me. I couldn’t go to Forbes because of how congested it could get. The thought of maneuvering to get lunch was daunting. It was during my early weeks back at school, when my Milton experience had profoundly changed, that I started to notice a new side to the Milton community through the many acts of kindness by people around campus.
First and foremost was the support from faculty and staff, whether it be the team at the health center, my teachers and deans, or campus safety. What might seem like little things—accommodations for meetings, time during the day for me to rest and elevate my ankle, extra time for my commute between classes, or assurances that paths were safe to walk on in the snow—made a big difference. I always felt seen, and there was always someone to lift the burden of my injury a little. For those small kindnesses, I am extremely grateful. Then, of course, there were my friends. They showed up for me every day in so many ways. When I couldn’t go to Forbes for lunch, my friends brought food to my advisor's office where I would eat, and they would stay to talk and eat with me. It was difficult for me to navigate the Stu on crutches, so they actively sought out time to catch up, a gesture which helped me stay connected. I never realized how much I missed those social spaces, but the community connection helped me rebound. I also owe a huge thank you to my advisor. Even before I returned to school, he was reaching out to support me. He let me use his office as a home base (I am sure he’s glad to have it back now), a gesture which was crucial to help me get through the day.
I was also struck by the small gestures made by so many people, some of whom I didn’t even know. I could not say how many times someone ran ahead to get a door for me, or stuck out a foot to hold an elevator for me, or swiped their IA so I didn’t have to fumble for mine. In class, everyone was kind and willing to help—whether that kindness be setting up a chair so I could elevate my ankle or making room for me to get by on crutches. In the elevator, people would check in on me. After running into someone a few times, it was always great to strike up a conversation and get to know some new a little bit better in that way.
Being injured, for me, was transformative. It was tough and tiring, but I didn’t go through it alone. I have been off my crutches for a while now, and I am excited to almost be back to my normal routine. As I return to a more familiar rhythm of school life, I am trying to slow down and continue to reflect on all the people who went out of their way to support me. Post-injury, I’ve truly learned to appreciate the acts of compassion, big and small, that define community at Milton.