My Voice: Kelly Bahmer-Brouse ’86 on becoming an (older) alumna

[First panel: Two students are outside of a building on campus. One sits on the steps with a book, and the other stands with arms raised, talking animatedly.] Mount Holyoke, 1983: I was working class reunions to earn some extra money. One day, as I was relaxing between shifts, a sister reunion worker rushed up to me. [The standing student says] “Older alumnae are AWESOME!”

[Second panel: Closeup of the two students, now both excited. The standing student says] “’It’s Raining Men’ came on the radio as I was helping a couple of them to their room. One said, ‘Oh, I LOVE this song!’ and they both started DANCING!” [The other student responds] “Wow!” [An asterisk at the bottom of the panel explains that “It’s Raining Men” is a “then-popular disco hit.”] [Third panel: A black-and-white photograph shows two alumnae dressed in 1940s fashion from their college days.] I was awed, astounded and delighted. They were from another era… and they liked the same things we did!

[Fourth panel: The seated student from the first couple of panels, now older and back for reunion, sits on a green Adirondack chair. A bubble with a heart in it points from her heart to a photo of her younger self, captioned “(my senior picture, 1986).”] Sitting on Skinner Green recently, it dawned on me that I’m now the same age as those alumnae. I realized that to today’s students, the mid-1980’s must seem as far away as the 1940s did to us. But, I thought, “I don’t feel so very distant from the class of 2020… And I know someday 2020 will seem long ago to the class of 2055.” [An image shows someone wearing a space suit with “MHC” on the front. A bubble in the back encircles a futuristic version of the Mary Lyon clock tower, and is labeled “MHC Martian Extension campus.] Then, from across the green, I heard… “Hey! Let’s get out the slip-n-slide!”

[Fifth panel: An inflatable unicorn connected to a hose with water spraying from its horn is on the grass.] Some students had set up an inflatable sprinkler on the green. My first instinct was to rush over and ask if I could join in the fun. But as I started to get up…

[Sixth panel: A hand holds a smartphone. The screen reflects the image of the speaker’s face. A thought bubble shows a large exclamation mark.] I enabled the front camera on my phone by mistake, and caught sight of myself as… Well, not… OLD. Just older. And I decided sliding on wet plastic was not a good idea.

[Seventh panel is a thought bubble connected to the sixth panel. It shows the speaker’s younger self using a slip-n-slide, squealing “wheeee!.”] I realized Gertrude Stein was right: “We are always the same age inside.” Or at least I am.