Hello, and welcome to the woods! I'm Lauren, a '27 from Munger, Michigan. On campus, I enjoy writing sports for The Dartmouth, going on as many DOC trips as I can, and being an active member of a few political groups. I also love Woccoming, doing the crossword, and hanging out with my friends in FFB.
I took this class as part of Dartmouth's first year writing requirement. We read a pro cyclist's life narrative, discussed research papers on controversial topics in sports, and wrote our own papers on a contentious sports technology of our choice. I really enjoyed this course's emphasis on discussion, and the small class size!
This was my first class in the classics department, which was super exciting as a classical studies major! We learned about the ancient Olympics and the connections between athletics and other aspects of ancient Greek society. I loved the final project in this class, which involved creating an argument about how the ancient pentathlon was scored!
As I got ready to head back to campus for the start of spring term, I was not expecting to have to bring my winter jacket and boots back with me!
Over the last couple of days, it snowed in Hanover. It really, really snowed—over 20 inches, I must add. In my opinion, the winter term weather was actually pretty mild. It snowed a few times, and we experienced some slushy snow, but I was never majorly inconvenienced by the snow. I really enjoyed snow-based activities, too, like the annual snowball fight, skiing, and sledding.
As I was packing to go home for spring break, I naively thought that I could expect to return to a sunny campus blooming with life. The last few days of the term only reinforced this idea: being able to play volleyball on the Green with my friends, going on a Woccom wearing a t-shirt and shorts, and studying for my finals on a bench outside of the library. I'm familiar with the concept of a false spring, and I guess I knew subconsciously that there was a possibility that it could snow during the spring term. But I expected flurries, not a storm.
I spent the last few days of break in New York City with one of my friends from Dartmouth, and as our peers made their way to campus, we started to get texts about the snow. At first, I thought everyone was exaggerating. Sure, it was snowing, but how bad could it really be? Then, I saw a photo on social media of snow completely covering the seat of the very same bench I had studied on just a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked, but I pushed the thought of snow to the back of my mind.
For the first couple hours of the Dartmouth Coach ride back to campus, I didn't see any snow. Then, all of a sudden, I looked up from my book to see a wintery landscape all around me. I commented to my friend that when we rode the bus back to campus together after winterim, there was no snow on the ground. That's when reality hit for the first time.
It hit me again when I stepped off the coach in Hanover. I really enjoy snow, so I decided to make the best of the situation. Instead of staying in my dorm until classes start tomorrow morning (which I was tempted to do), I made plans to grab dinner with a friend and catch up. After dinner, I headed to the library to clean out my Gmail inbox and get ready for the first day of class. I wrapped up the night by seeing some more friends and sharing stories with them about our breaks over a game of cards.
Maybe I'm just in a reflective mood, but I feel like there are a few lessons to be learned from this snow: always be prepared, embrace the unexpected, and never take your heavy-duty boots home!
With a solar eclipse sweeping across North America for the first time in nearly seven years on April 8th came a road-trip with hundreds of other Dartmouth students to a zone of totality near campus: St. Johnsbury, Vermont!
After returning from an enriching study abroad program, I'm diving into a bustling spring semester here at Dartmouth. Here are my four courses I'm taking this term!
I have written about being a student worker plenty of times in the past, but I have yet to talk about one of my favorite jobs ever: ticket selling at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
