Finding Hidden Treasures Along the Charles

Before you graduate, spend one of your summers in the Cambridge-Boston area. As a rising senior, I made a decision to spend my last summer on campus, and not only have I had an incredible summer, I'm also looking forward to a better senior year because of this experience.

As I was making plans for the summer, I realized that this would be my last summer as a Harvard undergraduate. Along with this realization came another one: After three years here, I still did not feel entirely at home. I had only ventured into Boston occasionally, each time going to the same museums, movie theaters or shopping malls. Even on campus, there were places--centers, libraries, exhibits--I had only heard of but had never set foot in. I justified this to myself with my busy school-year schedule, but I still had a lingering feeling that I'm somehow missing out on part of what living at Harvard has to offer.

So when I had to finalize my summer plans, I decided to stay in Cambridge--to get to know this place before I leave. Spending this summer here also means that I'm exploring Cambridge and Boston early enough to have my senior year to revisit the local places I enjoy--instead of finding out too late that there were many sites that I had been missing out on all along. When I was given the opportunity to live on campus and work in Boston, my summer plans were set: I would live in Leverett in return for working on the House website and work at Fleet Boston Financial on Corporate Internet Strategy during the day.

As my summer progresses, I'm constantly amazed by how much I don't know about the area I've been living in for three years. One early highlight of the summer was attending Chinese Dragon boat races right here on the Charles--an annual event that had been taking place for over 20 years, but about which I only learned when I was awakened by the drums one Sunday morning. I "discovered" many other things about Harvard this summer. Take Widener, for example. After three years of dodging tourists' cameras on these library steps treading up to the stacks under the pressure of research deadlines, I took the time this summer to stop in front of the famed building to take a good look at what it is that so amazes people from all over the world. The truth is, despite the junior papers and senior theses that Widener has come to symbolize for me, it is an impressive piece of architecture whose grand exterior signifies the incredible resources that are housed inside--resources that we're very fortunate to have.

I have also done my share of exploring outside of campus, in and around Boston. Frequent trips to Quincy Market and Copley Square satisfy my shop-a-holic needs. These trips have brought with them unexpected surprises, such as running into an old friend, now living in the area, whom I hadn't seen in over a year. Without the convenience of a regular dining hall this summer, I have found my favorite eateries in Porter Exchange and other surrounding areas. Before summer ends, I plan to visit the Boston museums and aquariums that I have never been to, or have found particularly enjoyable on previous trips. Areas outside of Boston, too, have provided refreshing getaways--surrounding towns that I had never heard of before seeing their names on signs by the highway.

Not only does living in the Cambridge-Boston area mean that I will have a great summer now; I am also looking forward to a more enjoyable senior year because of this experience. Now that I am getting to know Boston better and am increasingly adding to my list of favorite places in the city, my senior year will be that much richer. Plus, it's a comfort to know that, before I graduate and leave the area in search of a new home, I have finally learned to appreciate what it means to live, and not only study, at Harvard--to feel at home here in the residence of my college years. Who knows--maybe, come fall semester, I can even start to show some new first-years around Boston.

Dawn Lee '01, a Crimson executive, is an East Asian studies concentrator in Leverett House. She maintains The Crimson's website, which can be accessed at www.thecrimson.com.