So Ratchet. Much Love. Wow.

If you asked me heading into my senior year, I probably would’ve given very little thought into the houses my friends lived in. Like I’d know they were in an off-campus house, but I probably wouldn’t think anything was special about it. Ratchet House was different and changed that view of mine. The people who comprised that house made that seemingly ordinary little house at 807 Bellomy Street special.

First the name: I honestly didn’t know “ratchet” was a thing until Ratchet House came into being. Now I can’t seem to get it out of my vocabulary. Or at least more in the sense where I now refuse to believe you can refer to anything as “ratchet” without knowing about Ratchet House. This is probably more of a Joe thing that’s extremely ridiculous but still.

What was special about Ratchet House for me was how welcoming and loving of a place it was. It was the one place I had friends living where I was truly comfortable randomly knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell and seeing what happens.  I knew I wouldn’t be judged for randomly coming by and more often than not, someone was there to give me a friendly greeting. Even if no one was there, I was completely fine with making the effort to see what happens. The women of Ratchet House created that welcoming atmosphere for me and I fully appreciated it.

For whatever reason, it was the perfect house to celebrate birthdays. Going there to celebrate friends’ birthdays was always cool: there were some of the coolest people there and it was just an enjoyable atmosphere. The bell was quite unique and hilarious; I’m grateful no one minded that I tended to have water in my hand (instead of other stuff) when the bell was rung. My own birthday party was celebrated there actually. I wish I had known there was a door into the kitchen instead of thinking that there was flat-out open access to it. I might’ve been able to figure out the surprise waiting for me inside. Ah well it was awesome. And it spoke a lot to the generosity of Ratchet House to hold a surprise birthday party for someone who didn’t even live within a 10-mile radius of campus.

Many spontaneous adventures came about as a result of random visits to Ratchet House. My first time at Ratchet House, I came over with one of my friends and got to say “hi”, though in hindsight I could’ve picked a better time to ring the doorbell. Thankfully I didn’t get judged for that. Sometimes I’d walk in and randomly watch the end of a movie I’ve never seen. There was the one time I came over with another one of my friends and I ended up watching “UP” for the first time. There were a couple of Sunday nights where I just followed Celia and Laura back to Ratchet House and had quite the friend times. Going over to Ratchet House set the stage for one quite unique graduation night experience.  The space to come over at any time and feel welcomed, no matter how awkward of a time I came over, was such an amazing thing that the ladies of Ratchet House created and made my last year of college that much better.

Ratchet House was comprised of absolutely amazing and special people. Maira set up my birthday party and was the first person whose birthday I celebrated at Ratchet House. Sarah was always welcoming and answered the door for me quite often during my random visits. Celia and Laura were the Casa alumni, helping actively promote the program and just being awesome and wonderful people overall. Lauren was one of the SCCAP cogs, always seemingly having a meeting or somewhere to go and yet bringing her smiling face to everyone she sees and everything she does. Caroline was super cool and one time during my random visits, she answered the door (even though I interrupted her cooking dinner) and had a really cool, spontaneous conversation.

Each of these things about Ratchet House made it a special place and a special part of my senior year at Santa Clara. It wouldn’t be possible without the people that comprised Ratchet House.

This is to the lovely ladies of Ratchet House. I’m so grateful to Maira, Sarah, Celia, Laura, Lauren, and Caroline for welcoming me into your humble dwellings and being just awesome and amazing people. Because of you all, Ratchet House will always have a loving place in my memory.

(Photo courtesy of Ryan Selewicz, taken off Facebook =P )

Reminders...

The first part of post-graduation life is rather interesting. After 4 years of being surrounded constantly by the same people, many of whom you got to know and bond with, you’re no longer physically surrounded by them. It’s not a bad thing per se but it’s certainly different. Something one of my good friends told me during this stage of post-graduation transition was rather interesting. They told me how sometimes the last 4 years were like a dream and that they were alone. It wasn’t real and something reminded them that the “dream notion” was a false reality and there was so much to look forward to for the future.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the notion of reminders. One of my friends gave a reflection on this a fall quarter, when he said that sometimes all we need reminders. These come in all forms: reminders to do certain tasks, reminders that I’m meeting people or talking with them, or reminders that you’re loved just the way you are. I always felt bad when needing reminders primarily on the last part. For example, I was a “CP” person for CLC leaders this year (someone who externally supports small group leaders as needed). I was looking back through my text messages with one of these leaders and didn’t realize how down on myself I was, making comments like “Sorry if I’ve been crappy on the CP front”, to which this person told me to not even say that and that I was a great CP person. Reminder came in handy. Other important reminders come in the form of little messages and letters people give me. I go back to them to remind myself that despite my faults, I am loved for who I am. It helps me put myself back in the place and to dispel false realities that I’m a “bad” person just because I make one mistake or that I’m not “as good” as others or something.

One of the biggest things that serve a reminder for me are photos. I’m pretty sure I got this from one of my mentors, but especially during my last two quarters of college, I became really intentional about taking photos to document the time I spend with people, provided they’re comfortable with it (going off the reminder theme, making sure to be and respect where people are at). Every few days, I go back and view those photos and it reminds me of the joy I felt when I had that time with that person/those people.  Whether it’s as small as a coffee date or dinner, or as big as a birthday concert/big group gathering, every moment is precious and it’s my way of documenting that experience as a reminder. Now I concede that for some people, taking photos could take away from moments. But I’ve learned for me, it’s a fulfilling reminder of joy and good times had.

For the past year at my internship, I have had a “friends photo wall” going on the shelf above my computer. While I couldn’t ever fit all of my friends on it (too little room), looking up at it for brief moments gives me instant reminders of friendship and experiences. In the sometimes stressful and fast-paced work world, it’s healthy for me to look up and give myself a reason to smile. And it always grows as new experiences add up, so the amount of reminders only goes up.

At the same time, there are also moments that live on within me even without photos. For example, the experience of spending graduation night laying out on blankets in the Mission Gardens with a bunch of the most amazing people you can think of lives on fresh in my memory.  I don’t have a photo of that but it’s still something I will remember for a very long time. It was an experience that where I truly felt “alive” and gave me a lot of fitting closure on my time at Santa Clara. Photos aren’t a be-all, end-all for me, but in most cases, they serve as wonderful reminders of the times I spend with other people.

I know for myself I need lots of reminders of various things in my life. Photos are one of my biggest reminders of life, but I’m just one person. Different reminders work for different people but if there’s something I believe, it’s that reminders are just a part of everyday life.