The students behind the ink

Austin Baragary- Beyond the Hill Editor
2/3/12

It is February. Yes, February. As in the second month of the year. The month that comes after January. This means that we only have three-and-a-half months until another round of finals. Only three-and-a-half months from summer jobs and internships.

For the seniors, it means being three-and-a-half months away from the real world. I realize that, when framed in this manner, it seems we have barely any time before we move up and out. If every other month flies by like January did, May will be here before we know it. As a professor recently said to me, “The days are incredibly long; the years are incredibly short.”

This statement had a profound impact on the professor, but also left an impression on me, largely because I was still in a mode of thought I like to call “Outward Bound Time.” Allow me to elaborate: I am a Pryor Leadership Fellow at William Jewell College, which means that, along with internship opportunities and fantastic classes, I had the opportunity to participate in a two-week-long Outward Bound course beginning in late December and lasting until early January. For two weeks, I went without a bath or deodorant as I paddled with my crew of eight other William Jewell students through Everglades National Park in Florida. Also, before we proceed, let us get a few things out of the way: We saw one alligator, it was not dangerous and yes, we pooped into a bucket.

Life in the Everglades functions on an entirely different plane than life at William Jewell, or really any other civilized place in the United States. There are no cell phones, no television, no computers, no distractions. Our only task was to get to our next destination, to move from point A to point B. Sprinkled in with that were a few other challenges, like keeping nine college students properly fed and staying afloat during low tide, but we lived simply and with one purpose. This created a sort of time warp, which I like to call Outward Bound Time.

When living on Outward Bound Time, one tends to take life one day at a time. It does not make much sense to plan too far in advance, because things can change so quickly. An unanticipated cold front can come through and force your crew to take a route on which they had not planned. The tide can go out earlier than you had anticipated meaning that you have to pull your canoe over a log.

This “one-day-at-a-time” mentality can be incredibly hard to shake. For instance, it was a little overwhelming upon my return to William Jewell to be faced with a weekly planner. The idea of planning more than one day in advance was daunting. I have, however, been able to get back into the groove of things. In fact, I use my planner now more than ever before. But this is what I think my professor was talking about when she said that the days are long, but the years are short. We always have so much to do as William Jewell students that, while days stretch before us with their endless to-do lists, the school years fly by.

Of course, I am not saying that we should abandon our weekly planners and our to-do lists. I’m merely saying that it wouldn’t kill us to take a break to enjoy this unseasonably warm yet beautiful weather. Prior to Outward Bound, if a friend suggested that we do something spur-of-the-moment, with little to no planning, I probably would have gone into a panic. But now, I am not so sure. I mean, it is already February.

What have I got to lose?