Adams house has been my house, and my home for the past three years. As a graduating senior (I will start crying right now), I am completely biased and utterly in love with every nook and cranny of the house that has often seen me at my worst, provided me with comfort and in the process has become my home. Adams has the most close-knit house community I have come across in the past three years and to me represents a family away from my actually home. The Adams community has become my biggest support system, my guide, and above all my friend. That is exactly the kind of environment that Sean and Judy Palfrey, the most amazing House Masters EVER (again, this is going to be very biased) promote. I mean, how many other house masters dress up in drag and participate in one of the most iconic events on campus?! The tutors are an extension of this support system and provide a network of people who always have your back, regardless of your worries, whether it is questions about future plans, or the mouse you may or may not have seen in your room. In either case, the people really make Adams the house it is — friendly, warm, and full of House Spirit.
At a completely superficial but really important level, the big draw for Adams is: LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. It is the House nearest to the yard, which means it is the only house that allows you to run to class at the last minute. It also means that it is centrally situated, close to all of your favorite Harvard Square digs. It also means having the ability of returning to your house for lunch. Low blow? I know — but just keeping it real.
Adams is also seeped in history. Every piece of intricate architectural feature of the house has a story, made most evident in the murals that cover the extensive network of tunnels connecting the main Adams building to Randolph. The paintings in the tunnels give a glimpse into the current and past student body at Adams in all its quirky glory. From the Pool (now a theater), supposedly the sight of plentiful debauchery at one time in Adams’ history to the FDR Suite in B entryway, to the painted domes, and randomly hidden rooms and marble floors of Claverly Hall, there is a story to be told in every corner of the house.
Adams also fosters the arts actively throughout the house. There is the Pool Theater, where you can get involved in a show, or simply go to watch a show as a study break during the weekend. A Bow and Arrow Press, and an Art Studio round out the infrastructure available in Adams to nurture your existing interests or fuel new ones.
Like I have mentioned before, beyond what meets the eye, Adams is really all about its community. The sort of deep bonding within the house is fostered by rich Adams House traditions. Every Thursday is Carpe Noctem – where Adamsians all come together in music, games, performance, or a movie to celebrate the approaching weekend. Christmas is accompanied by a dinner, and the black-tie reading of Winnie the Pooh, followed by caroling in Apthorp House (where the masters live). The common spaces of the house are also transformed during its Winter and Spring Formals, enhancing the sense of pride in the house.
Every time I walk into Adams, I am usually weary — after a long day in lab, or from a long trip back from home. However, the minute I enter the House, I am enveloped by a sense of familiarity. I know that I will run into multiple smiling faces even before I make it to my room – people who I had not known before being placed in the House, who have now all become my friends. Even this year, working late into the night on my thesis, I met some wonderful people who I had barely known before the last month. In the midst of the sleep-deprived marathon that thesising is, we became close friends. I know that it is cliché to say what I am about to say, but truly, Adams was never just a house for me. Right from the day I had walked through its majestic doors, I knew that I had found a place in this big university that I can always call my home. Through its rich history, its wonderful staff, and close-knit student body, Adams has shown me that no matter where I go when I graduate, and how long I have to stay away, I will always carry the bustling, cheerful, warmth of Adams in my heart, embody in my actions, and foster it in my acquaintances. It’s true that I wasn’t born into royalty, but Adams rules my heart, runs in my blood, and that’s good enough for me. Get ready to live that fantasy!