After a weekend of sunshine and spring weather, I woke up on April 28 to snowfall. Not the beautiful, light snow of January and February, but sloppy, wet globs of half-melted snowflakes. I had already sent my heavy jacket and my snow boots home, and all that remained in my closet was a thin Patagonia fleece that this miserable precipitation would probably destroy. Convinced that God hated me, I rolled out of bed expecting a terrible day.
But everything changed when I arrived at Collis at 9:30 a.m. Common Ground was eerily empty, and I walked through the doorway to find there was no omelet line. My Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings usually consist of waiting 10 minutes for my half and half spinach and cheese omelet, or me skipping the process altogether because I'm in a rush. But this glorious day, when many had probably decided to avoid the wretched trek to Collis, I ate my hot breakfast right away, which more than compensated for the bitter weather outside.
Life is full of these little pleasures or natural highs, if you will that can lighten the most dismal of moods.
For Lexi Kellison '13, there's nothing better than putting on clothes straight out of the dryer.
"The soft fabric warms my whole body," she said with a grin, staring distantly across the Green, while I tried to remember the last time I even did my laundry.
Laundry and cleanliness were common themes present in the everyday delights of Dartmouth students. Given our lifestyle of dirty frat basements and general college student filth, this was not surprising.
Lowell Reed '13 said climbing into a bed with clean sheets was his simple pleasure. I know for me, "change sheets" is a permanent resident on my to-do list a 10 minute task that I somehow associate with hours of intense physical labor for which I simply do not have the time or energy. Yet when the chore is done, slipping under cool, fresh sheets is indeed a wonderful feeling.
In that same hygienic vein, Sara Medina '12 finds joy in hot showers.
"[Whether it's] going to the gym or waking up in the morning, it's just a nice alone, refreshing time," she said.
Yet not everyone considers sanitary practices blissful occurrences, and rather discover happiness in more productive ways. Sam Welch '10 said crossword puzzles are sources of both triumph and pleasure.
"[My simple pleasure is] getting anything right in the crossword," he said. "I'm terrible at crosswords. If I know a clue that can help, that really just makes my day."
At the top of my list of simple pleasures is sitting down and finishing a D article. The random interviews are painfully awkward, the deadlines obnoxiously daunting and the constant search for the perfect phrase rewrites of every single sentence exasperating. Yet the suffering is worth it, for there's nothing that satisfies me more than typing and knowing that this very sentence is it, and with these final words you can finally go out and enjoy your weekend.
