Here at Tahoe semester, polar plunging in the lake has become a part of our morning routine.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolar plunge reminds me how I can challenge my mind,\u201d Roxana Popa, a sophomore at Centre, told me today after our morning dip in the lake. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t get any less cold the longer you stay in, so staying in so long becomes a mental game.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the two and a half months we\u2019ve been here, we\u2019ve done and learned a lot. The mental strength polar plunge taught us proved immensely valuable as we spent three nights in sub-zero temperatures between day hikes through a snowstorm.<\/p>\n
We have learned to mountain bike, climb, surf, snowshoe, and ski. I learned what \u201cbackcountry\u201d means and the cultural implications the term invokes.<\/p>\n
All the while, I have been prompted to not lose sight of the reason I\u2019m here. Tahoe semester is much more than a fun, adventure-seeking semester. We are challenged to examine the privilege with which we enter these spaces. We are prompted to consider why we are doing these things.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the intentionality in everything we do here,\u201d Joey Johnson, a junior at Centre, said. \u201cWe have time and space to reflect on the things we\u2019re doing, rather than just checking them off a list.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each of our four classes is aimed at answering the question \u201cwhat is nature?\u201d which we discuss amidst each outdoor excursion. This question has provided me with a way to process the experiences I\u2019m having– a way to channel them into both personal and academic growth.<\/p>\n
In this environment, I have developed a profound sense of respect for my professors. We\u2019ve had class on the beach, in the van, on the dock, around a campfire, and in the classroom. In these intimate classroom settings, we are presented with challenging texts and rich discussions. There, I see my peers channel that polar plunge mental strength.<\/p>\n
As I confront the question \u201cwhat is nature?\u201d I look to the community we\u2019ve built here at Tahoe Semester.<\/p>\n
About ten people live on campus who make up Tahoe semester, including advisors and professors. We do everything together. This community pushes each of its members to grow. It is because I slept between Joey and Roxana fearing our tent poles might break under 50 mph wind gusts that I feel comfortable enough to knock on their doors asking for a hug when I\u2019m homesick. It is because I spent spring break navigating a new place, i.e. San Francisco, with Hninn Ei and Lilah, that I was able to trust them belaying me my first time climbing. It is because Dave responds with such wisdom and empathy in the classroom that I trusted him in teaching me to mountain bike and ski.<\/p>\n
We find ritual in our consistency of daily morning polar plunges, Sunday pancake breakfasts, and evening stargazes. These are the places and moments where I have found a community so precious I\u2019m scared to leave.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here at Tahoe semester, polar plunging in the lake has become a part of our morning routine. \u201cPolar plunge reminds me how I can challenge my mind,\u201d Roxana Popa, a sophomore at Centre, told me today after our morning dip in the lake. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t get any less cold the longer you stay in, so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4052\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}