Ah, senior year! That special time in one’s life when saying “yes” to everything is verging on mandatory. Do you want to go for a walk? Yes. Do you want to get dinner? Yes. Do you want to skip class to go see Stephen Colb- Yes. Saying yes is seen as a vehicle for making your final year as free, spontaneous, and fun as it can possibly be. But what if I’d have more fun saying no? To all my fellow seniors (or really anyone who needs to feel validated in not wanting to do something), in honor of what I’m deeming “no”vember, here’s what I’ll be saying no to.

Optional Office Hours in Place of Sections

I tried. I really did. “It’s your last year,” I said. “Get the most out of your education!” So, amidst the strike, I made the trek to the Barker Center on a Thursday at 3:30 p.m., having prepared a couple of questions. The scene I stumbled upon was something like the second ring of hell. The room was full of only the most intense section kids I had ever seen, each foaming at the mouth at the prospect of getting some real face time with our (albeit quite renowned) professor. I stood at the back, frozen in place, watching as the mayhem commenced. Think Mean Girls fight scene. The professor tried to keep it under control, directing the conversation in what would have been an interesting way had it not been for Section Kid #1 trying to outperform Section Kid #2. The topics got more abstract. An hour had been wasted. I slipped out the door, never to return.

Living Off of HUDS Grilled Chicken

This November, I’m getting creative in the kitchen. I’ll admit it: I’ve gotten lazy. I don’t even look at the HUDS menu anymore. I enter the servery and beeline for the grill, begrudgingly signing my name and checking off the line for grilled chicken (I genuinely think I could fill out those slips with my eyes closed at this point). But no more! I cannot, in good conscience, have spent four years complaining about HUDS food without even attempting to make the best of it. The menu will be checked. Plans will be made. I will become a regular at the panini press, waiting *sigh* the eternity it takes to use that d*mn thing (I know, I know. I’m so brave). Please drop any dhall dish recs below :) and like and subscribe while you’re at it.

Selling My Ticket to HY

Every year, I consider it and refrain from the $100+ offers in the house email lists because I have faith that THIS WILL BE THE YEAR WE WIN. Every year, I make my way into The Game against all odds (the HY horror stories are real). Every year, I sit through The Game until the final buzzer sounds and the despair sets in. You might be thinking, “Okay, so why wouldn’t you switch it up?” And you’re right. I might be our bad luck charm. But guess what? I don’t care. I will be amidst the crowd that witnesses the first Harvard win in five years. No matter how high the bids get, I won’t give in. You can’t make me. I WILL LIVE TO SEE HARVARD BEAT YALE.

Signing Up for Classes Before 10:30 a.m.

Registration is open for the spring semester, and I will NOT be sucked into a 9 a.m. in my senior spring. The voices come from all around, whispered, hissed: But it’s so nice to get it out of the way; you’ll have the rest of the day to yourself; it’s a gem. No. No class is worth all of that. If I’m in class until 5 p.m., so be it. I don’t care if the class is “A Seminar on Emerson’s Favorite Things.” I am NOT waking up at 8 a.m. for class in the last three months where it’ll be socially acceptable for me to sleep in until noon on a weekday if I so choose. I will be frolicking until the wee hours of the morning and then pulling up to my 1:30 p.m. class with my breakfast and energy drink in hand.

November of senior year is full of lasts: last registration, last HY, last Harvard fall. It is ripe with things to say yes to, and believe me, I’ll be taking full advantage of most of them. However, I think it’s just as freeing to say no. So take inspiration! Class of 2027 (or anyone really), what are you saying no to?