This term has been rough. As a ’19, a lot of upperclassmen have told me that while freshman fall is all fun and games, things get serious come winter. Now, as a Massachusetts native, the cold weather hasn’t really bothered me (although I wish there were more snow so I could actually use the ski equipment I rented). I’m doing well in all my classes, so that’s not the issue either. They can stress me out to the extreme, but I’ve been able to cope with that pretty effectively.
Rather, I think what has made this term difficult is the fact that college doesn’t feel “new” anymore. Last term, living on my own, away from the family and friends I had been around my whole life, everything had a degree of novelty. It felt sort of surreal. I was in college. Although I was the little man on campus, I felt on top of the world. Now, though, I’ve fallen into a rut. Just like the colorful Hanover leaves have fallen by the wayside of this “dark and dreary” winter (to borrow a line from Robert Frost), my days have started to bleed together. Things don’t pop like they did fall term. Instead of seeming new and shiny, things seem gray.
So what have I, a lowly underclassman, done to survive these winter months, now that apart from some “fun and games,” college has revealed itself to, at some level, be a long druggery towards a diploma? I try to relax and take deep breaths. Really, it’s that simple. In the middle of everything, all the stress and work and social relationships, I try to have one activity every day during which I take a break and do something insubstantial by myself, that lets me take my mind off all the problems thrown at me by college and just be me.
For me, watching the Boston Celtics is that insubstantial activity. For the first time since my sophomore year in high school, my home state’s sports team has been playing some really exciting games. They have a core of feisty and talented young players, and currently have the third best record in the Eastern Conference.
Now, I don’t expect that activity to be of any interest to you. In fact, that’s kind of the point. While spending my roughly hour-and-a-half to watch the game, I might text one of my buddies from high school if the Celtics make a cool play, but other than that, it’s me time. It’s not about putting on some façade to appeal to whoever happens to be reading this, friends, potential hookups or anyone else in the Dartmouth social scene. It’s not about stressing over work or classes: last week, even with my computer science midterm looming, I made time to keep up my habit and watch the underdog Celtics beat the Los Angeles Clippers in overtime. It’s about a sort of yogic meditation in which I sit by myself and do pretty much nothing other than watching some players run a pick and roll.
If me watching basketball has nothing to do with any of you, then why am I wasting my time writing about this? Well, it’s not so much the act itself but the strategy behind it that I think might appeal to others. Obviously, I’m only a ’19 and I’m sure other people know a lot more about how to survive Dartmouth than I’ve managed to learn in my just over one and a half terms here. I’m not trying to tell people how to spend their free time, or how to live their lives. But I just think I’ve gained a lot from having this daily ritual, one that helps me stay at least somewhat focused and organized. A ritual that prevents me from going crazy while sitting in the library for an entire day. A ritual that provides me with an outlet to get away from other people when I just need some relaxation.
I’m sure a lot of people here could benefit from some alone time. Whether you spend this time watching basketball, streaming Netflix, playing video games or reading a book is totally up to you. If you just feel like you can’t take it anymore in terms of schoolwork or homework, take a break, kick back and do something you enjoy.
