"Remind me to do the Polar Bear Swim this winter. I'm gonna be so pissed at myself if I don't do the Polar Bear Swim before I graduate. I'm allergic to cold water, though. I bet it'll still be worth it."
I have no desire to ever hike the 50, I think asking a professor to lunch is kind of weird and I like my apples pre-picked. And that's all OK. This is not to say that you can't like picking your own apples. Good for you. Just please understand that when it comes to apples, 10 times out of 10, I like to enjoy them without driving to an orchard and picking them myself.
When the '11s matriculated, we were given a checklist of 101 things to do before we graduate. Lots of '11s have saved these posters and put them up in their rooms, steadily checking off polar bear swims and Sanborn teas, all of which brought them closer and closer to the "complete" Dartmouth experience.
But there is no complete Dartmouth experience. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar and a fool.
Sure, there are some things that we all do, and that are integral parts of the Dartmouth experience. '14s: shake President Kim's hand, run around the bonfire and play at least one game of pong Actually, even this last suggestion is controversial. Are you not a real Dartmouth student if you never pick up a pong paddle in your four years at Dartmouth? I'm going to refrain from answering that question, lest I disprove my own point.
You're all Dartmouth students and you shouldn't need a checklist to tell you all the things you need to do to make the most out of your Dartmouth experience. It's a weird concept. Why would we do anything in our free time other than what we wanted? How dare somebody else tell us what we want to do? This afternoon, I played a lot of videogames. It was fun. I enjoyed myself. And it's fine that when I look back on my Dartmouth experience, part of what I remember is hanging out with friends and doing nothing. See my point?
Here's the most salient case in my mind. Over sophomore Summer, some of my friends hiked the 50, and they remember it as one of the best things they did that term. They came back intoxicated with accomplishment, eager to tell all about their hallucinations around mile 40 and what a rush they experienced when they finally arrived at the Lodge. I was happy for them, since they were happy.
But then other people started to sign up for groups for the 50 in the Fall, and a couple asked if I would like to join them. I politely declined. And then got guilt-tripped. Sorry, but hallucinating from exhaustion just isn't my idea of a good time. Buy real drugs. For any potential employers out there, that last part was a joke.
Granted, being guilt-tripped about not doing the 50 is a very minor experience and definitely doesn't warrant complaining, but now that I'm on this soapbox, I just figured I'd express a bit of frustration with this part of Dartmouth culture. It's great to inform others of awesome opportunities out there, but the amount of guilt-tripping over squandered opportunities is too much.
As always, though, there's a LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. Lest I should be a hypocrite, I should mention that I've caved somewhat and have drafted a senior bucket list. There are some pretty stereotypical things on there. I've never hiked the fire tower during leaf season, and I really do want to do that. But the important part is that there are a lot of things that aren't on my bucket list, and I'm OK with that. And you should feel OK not doing some things, also. Just so long as one of those things isn't running around the bonfire. Do that.
