It’s been November for a couple of weeks, but it’s finally starting to feel like it. Today, while procrastinating papers and attempting to clear my head, I went for a walk in the woods behind the golf course. It’s easy to forget that we’re so close to nature — the golf course has gone untended since the varsity golf team stopped practicing there, and now the overgrown grass is less of a stark separation from the forest behind it. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and looked up at the sharp branches which made up the canopy above my head. It will look exactly like that until March or April. The winter always feels like the longest part of the year, even though it has the shortest days.
If you find yourself with time to spare after sunset, our writers at The Mirror have some final musings before we go our separate ways for winterim. One writer has compiled the perfect playlist to summarize fall, while another asks students about their experiences navigating physical injuries at Dartmouth. A duo of writers teams up to investigate finals-period sleep schedules, another story asks ’26s about their winterim hopes and dreams and a final piece dives into the time-honored Dartmouth tradition of flitzing.
One of my favorite parts of going for a walk in the cold is getting home, opening the door and immediately being greeted by a rush of warmth. After a few minutes, the stinging in my hands subsides and I forget that I was ever shivering. If you’re one of the people for whom this whole term has felt like a long walk in the cold, then take heart — your front door is in sight.
Caris is a '23 from Long Beach, CA and is majoring in religion modified with art history. When not editing stories for the Mirror, you can find her playing club soccer, snowboarding at the Skiway or sipping coffee in Sherman Art Library. After college, she plans on attending graduate school in religion.
