

Shuyi Jin

You are here

No Phone, No Problem
My First-Year Trip was a wonderful experience that gave me some close friends and some great memories. I can go on and on about going electrofishing, bonding through pranks, or taking a freezing dip in the river. Instead of talking about all those amazing adventures (which you'll just have to experience for yourself), what I'm going to talk about instead is how I survived four whole days without my phone, or any form of communication with the outside world.
Preparing for my trip, I collected a list of essential items, from sleeping bags to non-cotton clothing. My hardest decision, however, was not what to bring, but rather what I should do with my Snapchat streaks. Eventually, I made the decision to let them go. New school, new me, right? I told my friends that I would be gone for a few days and left my phone behind as I took a bus up to the Second College Grant with my trippees and trip leaders. I was prepared to miss my phone and social media, but as my trip began, I discovered all the perks of life without phones.
After we got off the bus, we had to take a quick hike to get to our cabin. We played silly bonding games on our way, games which I would have probably not participated in if I had my phone to distract me. With no texts or social medias to browse, I spent almost all of the day getting to know my trippees and trip leaders better, as we joked around and talked about our lives.
Back on campus, it always brings a smile to my face when I see one of my trippees or trip leaders. I get the feeling of seeing an old friend, and it's always cool to see what everyone's up to. We remain a close group, and even all reunited last week to have dinner (as many trips do). My adventure into the outdoors with some of the nicest people I have met introduced me to Dartmouth, and I haven't looked back since!
Posts You Might Like

A school had to meet three criteria for me to consider it a "good fit": academics, location, and community. After researching about Dartmouth and visiting the campus, I realized that this school was not a good fit for me-- it was a perfect fit.


I remember the first time I got really excited about Dartmouth—it was late 2018, right in the midst of college application season, and I had just gotten a fresh edition of 3D, Dartmouth's undergraduate admissions magazine, in the mail.


Finding pretty places to power through schoolwork has definitely made my Dartmouth experience better, and—luckily for students—there's no shortage of beautiful places on campus.


This term, I've truly cherished the opportunity to live and learn on Dartmouth's 269-acre campus. Come follow along to learn more about what I've gained from Dartmouth's profound sense of place!


At the end of every term, without fail, Dartmouth students post memories of the past ten weeks captioned with some variation of a '20F' hashtag. Read all about 20FinalFall in this blog post!


Let's rewind back to the beginning of September...


But at the end of the day, when people ask me what my favorite Dartmouth memories are, I'm always thinking about the place. Ice skating, pink sunsets, riverbanks, or canoeing? That's my highlight reel.


The last week of October was especially ~spooky~ as I was able to find more time than usual to enjoy my weekend with friends and the small-town-charm of Hanover.


While the student body at the College may be relatively small, students here recognize that their vote can hold a lot of weight in New Hampshire, a classic swing state.
