All Quiet on the Dorm Front

Life is all about routines. For me, my morning routine usually starts with waking up, putting on a pot of coffee, and habitually making my bed. But I didn’t always make my bed. I remember many childhood mornings filled with groans and protests as I was ordered to clean my room – a task so daunting, it felt like the whole world was against me.

 

That all changed when I went to boarding school. Every morning, it was mandatory: floors had to be clear, beds made, and curtains drawn. But finally, I wasn’t suffering alone. There were 50 of us, all struggling together – a shared bond of law and order. 

 

Evening House Meetings often reminded me of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, as the House Director called out the names of those who had forgotten to tidy their rooms. Gasps would fill the air as fellow “villagers” – some of whom we thought were the cleanest among us – were sent out to run laps in the cold evening air. I spent my fair share of nights on that glacial, dark hill out behind Duxbury House. Those years I was working on my cleaning skills, I was the fittest I ever was in my life.

It turns out, morning inspections were the easy part. I soon learned that Shawnigan had a long-standing tradition called “Number 1’s.” Once a week, your room would be fully inspected by the live-in staff members of your boarding house. Your room had to be spotless: bed made, floor trim dusted, bathroom scrubbed pristine, clothes folded neatly… you get the idea. Almost military-esque, but with less shouting and, thankfully, more understanding.

In an interview featured in Jay Connolly’s books about the School, Rough Diamond and Century, Hamish Mutter, a student from 1918 to 1920, recalled, “There was a dormitory prefect for each dorm of about nine or 10 boys. He was not above removing his belt to give a boy a couple of smart cracks across the open hand if he saw a badly made bed or an untidy table.”

Fortunately for me, Shawnigan had already become much more forward-thinking in its approach to discipline – and is even more so now, 15 years later, as I find myself a live-in staff member. As I sit here writing this blog post, I reflect on all the valuable lessons I learned while living in boarding. Many of those lessons have stayed with me throughout my life – even the small things, like cleaning my desk or folding my towels. At the time, these tasks may have felt mundane or even frustrating, but now I see them for what they really were: simple habits that taught me to have pride in my space.

The truth is, your Shawnigan Journey doesn’t really end – it begins again each day, with the fragrant smell of morning coffee, the crisp fold of a freshly made bed, and the confidence to thrive no matter how much dust there is.