Spend a night in the Beduin Tents in the Negev desert. Jewish Community, something that is filled with love and pride. For now, while I still have the luxury of free time with friends over winter and spring breaks, I’m going to spend them actually talking to people face to face. Not that I will never get a smartphone - when I graduate and find a job, I understand that I will need the constant Internet access to keep track of work matters. I don’t have a smartphone, because I don’t want to become another one of these media-crazed people. Similarly, I applauded Prince Ea’s video “ Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?” He preached exactly what I think: People are so busy trying to connect to others virtually that they begin to lose their real relationships. One girl actually said, “Why talk to people in real life when you can just talk to them on your phone?” What? Compared to Lucie’s positive outlook on losing her phone, those people’s comments seemed that much more profound. Most said they would physically fight another person. In Lucie Fink’s YouTube video “ 5 Days Without a Cell Phone,” several people say how they would feel if they didn’t have a phone. The real horror story is the reaction people have to their phones. The silence is only broken when a frustrated employee joins the table with a new horror story. I have suffered more than a few awkward lunch breaks at work, sitting at a table and holding my sandwich with two hands while my coworkers double-task - one hand picking at their fries as the other scrolls through social media. People joke about how a dozen people can sit together at a restaurant and all be on their phones, but that’s a real problem.

Do they text their friends that much while with their boyfriends? No. If they have such harsh separation anxiety with their boyfriends and can’t say, “Hanging out with friends - I’ll talk to you later,” then their time is probably better spent with their boyfriends than with me. It drives me up the wall when I hang out with my friends and they spend most of that time texting, Snapchatting, playing games, or scrolling through Facebook and Instagram. Don’t forget that the Outdoor Program Ski Shuttle is always a great option if you’re considering your next snowboarding or ski trip.Money aside, I have more personal reasons for not upgrading. I hope this will serve as some motivation for you to make a trip to the mountain and to never give up when learning a new skill gets frustrating. If you’re a beginner like me, falling is only part of the experience and half the fun. Once I realized that had just happened, I started laughing to myself at how incredible of a fall that was yet my body was still in one piece! I was also surprised at how little it hurt- luckily the snow was extra powdery, and the ButtSaver might have helped a bit too. I laid on the mountain, motionless, until I regained my senses. I had of course opened my mouth in shock, inviting a chunk of snow to the back of my throat. My momentum launched me forward, sending me into a complete 360 flip, first taking impact from my knees to chest then chucking me straight onto my back. But the fear of taking a hard hit stuck a pin in the back of my mind. As I began to pick up speed, adrenaline surged through my veins. I felt a rush of exhilaration down each slope. The hills on this run are steeper and longer. I set a goal that day to focus on learning how to turn on both my front and back edges, and how to properly break, rather than intentionally falling every time I wanted to stop.Īfter a few practice runs on the Bunny and Buttercup Hills, I was ready to progress to the Daisy Hill. As I skated towards the lift, I already felt a greater sense of confidence on my board. The sun was out, it was snowing, and the mountain was covered in fresh powder. Additionally, our group got to skip the long lines at the rental center and get right to picking up our gear. They did an awesome job keeping us well informed and making sure we received our equipment and passes before hitting the slopes. Hood Meadows that students and anyone in the community can ride.

This time I was equipped with Gore-Tex snow pants and “ButtSaver” pads, including a tailbone protector- I felt pretty invincible.Įach year the Outdoor Program at Campus Rec has a Ski Shuttle to Mt. I was more than ready to make a comeback from my first snowboarding experience, which involved me not having snow pants and falling down the mountain every five feet. This past weekend was my second time snowboarding and I had a blast, thanks to Campus Rec’s Ski Shuttle.

My first time snowboarding