I vaguely recall turning 17 years old. It was the summer before my senior year at New Hanover High School and--although I'd toyed with the notion of colleges and admissions applications, it was officially time to buckle down and take a serious look at where I wanted to be when August of 1991 rolled around.
Although I grew up in an unabashedly Tar Heel home, my parents were miraculously neutral-ish about where I should go to start the next chapter of my life. At that point in time, I was pretty freaked out about the enormity of UNC and I had a definite fear of getting sucked into giant Carolina Blue ocean, never to be seen again. Truth be told, I think that my parents were more than a little worried about me having a bit too much freedom right out of the starting gate and--although I bristled at the notion at the time--they most likely weren't too far off the mark.
So, Mom and I started a three-state tour of women's colleges. Some of the colleges scared me--like the one where a purple Mohawk-ed gal gave me a tour and told me the best places close to campus to get tattoos and piercings. One college made me quite literally sick by serving us spoiled beefaroni for lunch and several pit stops were made on the way home from that joint. Some of the colleges were perfectly fine, but I just couldn't see myself as a there as a student...
and then came Peace...
From the moment Mom stopped the car and I put my feet down in the parking lot, every fiber of my being said, "Home."
Peace College was founded by William Peace in 1857. It is located in the heart of downtown Raleigh, but the beautiful old oak trees and the Georgian buildings emit a serenity that belies the urban setting.
In 1991, Peace was a two-year school that boasted an above average success rate at placing its graduates at their pick of four-year institutions. It was a college steeped in tradition (which we all know is close to a Southern Belle's heart) with boys rarely being allowed on campus and never in a dorm room. Chapel attendance was required once a week and a white dress was required for various college functions. There was a curfew and, if a girl intended the spend the night out, she had to sign out. For graduation, students had to don formal white ball gowns and carry a dozen red roses. At the end of the graduation ceremony, all of the girls gathered around the old fountain to sing the school song and and throw one of their red roses into the water.
Now, I know that a lot of you are probably thinking that Peace sounds like a detention camp, but that is far from the case. The man-free atmosphere was actually rather liberating and girls were encouraged to have opinions and be their own person. There is definitely something to be said for being able to attend class in flannel pajamas with your hair squirreling all over the place...plus we got to see plenty of boys at NC State which was practically walking distance away.
We learned that it was okay to speak our own minds and to even yell when nobody was listening. We learned to take up for ourselves and we jokingly call ourselves "Peace Bitches," but we are proud of it. What Peace college provided for me was a home away from home, a stellar education, preparation for the "big schools" and the best damned friends a Southern Belle could ever hope to have.
It's mind-blowing how, for nothing more than random dorm assignments, Fate gives you the sisters you never had. We were from all corners of the State with backgrounds as different as night and day, but--from Day One--we had each other's backs. We laughed together and cried together and gathered breathlessly around the TV for Beverly Hills, 90210. We had pizza night and Golden Corral night (before the restaurant chain started sucking so bad). We could even finish each other's sentences. During my sophomore year, I clearly recall being in the midst of raucous fun with my Peace sisters and suddenly being struck with the melancholy thought that things were going to come to an end all too soon.
When the end did come, we shot off to different schools, but we still spent wild weekends together. We were bridesmaids in each other's weddings and I never would have met my husband but for the Peace girl that lived across the hall from me in Davidson dorm. We helped each other move and we settled down in different parts of the State and got to work on yet another chapter of our lives. I actually have law school to thank for putting me in the same town with one of my girls and her husband and--but for the cold terror unceasingly provided by Campbell Law School--it was three pretty great years.
Nonetheless, our lives took us away to different cities and states. We got caught up in careers and children and we told ourselves that there really wasn't time for anything else. We would occasionally call each other, email or send Christmas cards, but we were busy and we shamefully had yet to even meet each other's children and then God made me slow waaaay down.
I became very ill in the summer of 2009 and I was hospitalized for quite a while. Right before everything fell apart, I'd actually gotten in touch with my girls via Facebook. With the certain knowledge that my girls would either call the police or come down to Wilmington themselves if they didn't hear from me, I asked my husband to call and tell them what was going on. Less than 24 hours after my husband made that fateful call, I got a note from two of them that said, "We love you and we'll see you on Thursday."
I did see them on that Thursday and we hugged and sat and talked and it was as though our years apart never existed. We had each other's backs again. Every single Thursday of my hospitalization, my girls left their husbands and children and otherwise busy lives to drive hours to come and be with me. One of my girls lives in Kentucky, so a visit was next to impossible, but she sent me wonderful care packages and cards and pictures. I may never be able to express the magnitude of my thankfulness and love, but we're sisters and sisters know what's in each other's hearts when words don't come easily.
If nothing else, my illness made us realize that we need each other. This past summer, our families went on an amazing vacation to the mountains and I look forward to many, many more times together. It continues to blow my mind that every single one of us Peace girls has nothing but daughters. There's not one boy in the bunch and it has been suggested that Peace chromosomes are stronger than average. It is our dream to get all of our baby belles together, put them white dress-up gowns and get a picture of them around the Peace Fountain.
We all want our girls to have the exceptional opportunity to go to Peace College when the time comes and we are heartbroken to hear that--as with the rest of the country--Peace is currently experiencing some very hard times. Every girl should have the opportunity and privilege of becoming a Peace Girl and, if I had a million dollars, I would give all I had to keep that dream alive.
I'll never forget going to dinner with one of my girls and her husband many, many years ago. We were talking about how Peace had recently become a four year school and that particular information was news to her husband. The conversation went:
Husband: You mean Peace is a four year school now?
Us: Yep.
Husband: Oh my God, NOBODY could live with ya'll if you'd stayed there four years!
At which time, said husband was smacked in the back of the head.
This world needs more Peace Bitches.
No comments:
Post a Comment