It is often said that a first impression is one of the most important factors in the formation of opinions about a person or a thing. If that's really the case, then Dartmouth definitely has the right idea with the Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trips.
For many students, the DOC Trip is the first real interaction that they have with Dartmouth. Sure there's Dimensions, but half of those kids don't even come to Dartmouth. The DOC Trip is the real deal: college, finally, after all those painful years of high school.
And what an introduction! You step off the bus and are immediately greeted by exuberant people with funny haircuts who are happy to see you before even knowing your name. You meet your trippees and your Trip leaders, and it all seems like it's going to turn out great.
For most people, it does. For me, certainly, things couldn't have turned out better. I loved my freshman trip. It was flatwater kayaking, a leisurely two-and-a-half days of paddling down the Connecticut River. It was basically easy hiking on the water. Beautiful weather made it that much better.
The people were wonderful as well. I was on a trip with a good number of kids from my region of the country, but that's to be expected. We bonded over hometown stories and aspirations for the years ahead while reveling in the various legendary feats of raginess imparted to us by our Trip leaders. We made Annie's Mac and Cheese and played Mafia under the stars.
As soon as orientation started, however, we all got pulled in to our own separate Dartmouth worlds. That's what happens, I suppose, and I'm certainly very happy with the way my life has been at Dartmouth thus far.
Sadly, I don't really see many of those kids -- my first fellow Dartmouth-ians -- anymore.
But that doesn't mean that my trip wasn't incredible. Everyone was just so excited, especially at the Lodge. The enthusiasm was palpable, tangible to the point where the air was very nearly electric with positive energy. It is an experience that remains with me to this day.
So I guess if I had to answer the question, "Why did you love your DOC Trip so much?" in one sentence, it would go something like this: I loved my trip because it made me feel great about myself and because it made me feel great about finally arriving at Dartmouth.
That's not the whole answer. As I said before, first impressions are important. To have such a fundamentally positive first experience with Dartmouth not only colors my opinion of Dartmouth itself, but of everything else following that first impression as well.
I know that I love Dartmouth; I know that I loved my DOC Trip. But I also know that the DOC Trip that I remember is probably vastly different than the one I experienced as a freshman. Now here's the rub: Do I love Dartmouth because I loved my DOC Trip, or do I love my DOC Trip because I love Dartmouth?
There is no one answer to this question. Both experiences are so wrapped up in one another that it is impossible to analyze them separately. What's the point, anyway?
The only further evidence I can give to show why I loved my DOC Trip so much is the amazing experience that I had leading a trip after sophomore summer. Now leading a DOC Trip isn't for everyone, though usually there are way more people who are interested in leading than there are spots. I was doubly lucky in getting assigned to lead the same Trip that I took when I was a freshman.
As you can imagine, it all came flooding back to me: H-Croo, the trippees, the flair, the sun and the water. The feeling you get when you wake up in the morning and all your stuff is still there and dry, too. Annie's Mac and Cheese. All of those recollections were reinforced by my enthusiastic and wonderful trippees and my equally brilliant co-leader.
Leading that Trip reminded me how special the First-Year Trip experience is, and how special Dartmouth is as a whole. There is no other college that does anything like it. We should feel lucky to have it given to us.
Dylan is a staff writer for The Mirror. He was kidnapped on his trip by Vox Croo and brainwashed.
