It's the second week of school already, and the memories of the refreshing break have already faded into the distance. It's back to the routine of life at Dartmouth and in Hanover: the trudging in the snow, the ringing of the Baker tower bells, the ritualistic layering before venturing outside and the plethora of afternoons spent outdoors in the snow and of nights languishing indoors. There are, of course, classes to attend, friends to meet, experiences to share and DDS food to be had.
But, curiously, the one thing that struck me the most this first week back at school was that I actually liked -- and missed -- routine in my life.
During the three-week break that preceded this Winter term, my life was literally a daily adventure. Living with my relatives in sunny Southern California, I was spoilt, and the time that I went to bed and woke up was continually in flux. Every new day was an adventure in itself -- the things that I would do for the day (cook? Watch a movie? Play some basketball?) came more or less spontaneously as the three weeks sped blissfully by. It was sloth at its best, arising from the freedom that was a consequence of not only being away from school but also being free of responsibility in general. I was no longer a UGA or a student -- I was just someone trying to kick back and have a good time with no particular aim or goal in sight.
Yet as I settled back into life here, I surprised myself by embracing my routine like it was a long lost friend.
I really do like my own personal routine. Waking up and going to sleep at roughly the same time every day and brewing some tea before stumbling into the shower is a morning ritual that I never fail to miss. Of course, there are the commitments like daily Mass, the weekly ORL staff meetings and the out-of-class responsibilities that I have. At the risk of sounding corny, I like seeing how my week is laid out on Bannerstudent in terms of class times, and I enjoy planning ahead for the term in terms of the goals I hope to achieve and the things I want to do. I have a desk calendar and frankly I find it almost therapeutic to mark out certain dates and lay out my life for the next nine weeks. It might be due to my military background, but I can't see my life here without a routine.
It's not only the physical routine that I cherish. My own Dartmouth routine also encompasses the intellectual challenges of the classroom and the new knowledge that I'm learning during the quarter -- all of it seems almost refreshing, even if presented and digested in a structured, routine manner. Of course, it's not an easy road that Dartmouth students walk. But, this road that we walk is still an immensely beneficial and mind-expanding one. At the end of the quarter when I have those precious one or two days to sit down and reflect on the term that has just passed, I'm always glad I traveled it.
Before I run the risk of sounding like a monotonous robot, however, I must say that I do find breaks in my routine important. I always try to take time out at the end of a day to think about the day. One of my resolutions for the new calendar year is to keep a daily diary of sorts in which I can jot down a few of my musings. Of course, doing random things with my friends is also always welcome and I jump at opportunities to take the occasional trek beyond the confines of Hanover. Planning events for my floor is fun and I've also decided that I'm going to write (not blitz) home more often.
Whatever my routine is, I've always felt that it's a signal to me that I've never fundamentally changed since I've come here. To be sure, I've undergone some minor adjustments in my perspective and general mode of thought, but I don't think I've really changed much at all. I still value the same qualities in both myself and in my close friends, I possess the same ideological slants and I conduct myself in pretty much the same manner as I did when I was in the army.
Personally, every term is an adventure for me -- spiritually, mentally and physically -- in all senses of the word. However, I find that it's always the internal constant (as manifested in my outward routine) that keeps me rooted in the middle of a turbulent quarter, and somehow that hasn't changed at all since I've been here. I wonder how much this applies to the rest of the people on campus -- have their Dartmouth experiences fundamentally altered them at all?
