Love Week is back at Jane, and it’s one of those weeks that captures what this place is really about.
Uni can be stressful. There’s always something competing for your attention, assignments, deadlines, plans, and everything in between. It’s easy to get caught up in your own world. Love Week is a chance to step outside of that, even just for a moment, and look out for the people around you.
This week, everyone living and working at Jane has their own envelope in the Dining Hall. Notes are written, shared, and slipped inside, some thoughtful, some funny, some completely unexpected.
Jane Student Club Vice President, Nate says Love Week is special.
“Getting an actual piece of paper is really meaningful, especially when it comes from people you might not interact with every day, but still see around. It’s nice to get that validation and those compliments.”
Love Week comes at a busy time of year, just after the Easter break, when assignments start piling up.
“It’s a nice distraction to feel some love and get that reminder that it’s not all about uni, it’s about the people around you too,” Nate says.
By the end of the week, those envelopes start to fill up. The Student Club Committee steps in to play postie, delivering each envelope to its person.
Across the College, small moments of kindness show up in other ways too.
“Around all the mirrors at Jane, there are little notes from your neighbours and friends telling you that you look great, or that you’re going to smash the day,” Nate says.
“It’s just those little reminders, when you’re living all together, to feel that love.”
For many, the notes don’t just stay in the moment. They stick around long after the week is over.
“I remember last year a lot of people put them on their pinboards,” Jane Student Club President, Scarlett says.
“Just as reminders to keep going through the year. Everyone has those down days, so it’s nice to have that physical reminder in your room.”
And when it comes to writing a love note to Jane itself, the answers say it all.
“I am so glad soup is back,” Scarlett says. “A love letter to minestrone soup, good bread… and all the staff and the people.”
For Nate, it’s simple:
“A love letter to everyone that makes Jane, Jane.”
Because that’s what Love Week comes back to. Not just the notes, but the people behind them.
A community that notices each other. Looks out for each other. And reminds you, in small and unexpected ways, that you’re part of something good.