The girls walk down the aisle, bouquets in hand, wearing rings and white dresses. Each step elicits smiles and tears from friends and family members, who watch as their daughters and granddaughters move on to a new phase in their lives. A wedding? Not quite. At Graduation, each senior bids farewell to these ever graceful halls of learning and sets forth onto a new journey: college. But how do our former seniors fare in their new environments.

Alex  ’11 and Gaby ’11 are freshmen at Bentley University in Boston, Massachusetts and the University of California Berkeley, respectively, and they agreed to give us a glimpse into the life we’re all waiting for: boys, parties and ramen noodles. That’s right, college

Alex was recruited to Bentley’s Division II Varsity Volleyball team. She said that while college may not be easier than high school was, Marlborough prepared her for the level of work and demanding schedule of a student athlete. Tator said she knew leaving her hometown of Los Angeles would be difficult, but knowing that she would be in the metropolitan city of Boston made the transition easier. Above all, she misses her friends and family in Los Angeles, but she admits to missing some of the comforts of home almost as much.

“They don’t have In-n-Out here, which is very sad,” Alex said in an e-mail. Alexwas a valuable member of our Varsity Volleyball team before she graduated, but her one true love was the Ultimate Frisbee Club. Alex said she looks forward to joining the Ultimate Frisbee intramural team at Bentley as well.

On the opposite end of the country, Gaby ’11 is attending the University of California-Berkeley. With respect to what she misses about home, Gaby echoed Alex.

“I really miss my family and the food! I crave Wine and Cheese sandwiches all the time! And I’m not going to lie, I miss Café M too,” Gaby said in an e-mail.

Gaby said she didn’t immediately love college, as Alex did, but she is slowly getting used to Berkeley and the rhythm of campus life. Although school is difficult, Gaby said that she finds herself complaining about the work load less than her peers, probably as a result of the rigorous preparation she received at Marlborough. However, her time in high school isn’t all memories of sleepless nights and SATs; Gaby fondly looks back on all of her teachers and in particular remembers her AP English class junior year.

“I’ve been reading Hamlet in my English class, and it brings back so many memories of 11th grade English with Dr. Long, which was easily one of my favorite classes of all time,” Gaby said in an e-mail.

Both Alex and Gaby seem to think that although Marlborough didn’t necessarily prepare them socially for their new lives as college students, especially in terms of dealing with boys on a regular basis, the academic transition came naturally. According to Gaby, finding friends really comes down to how much of an effort one makes to meet new people. Both of our seniors seem to be making new friends and enjoying college… Even if it means they have to do it without In-n-Out’s animal-style fries.