12
the Racquette
Community
April 22, 2016
What Wilderness Education did for a Germaphobe Rebecca Augustine Staff Writer
I am a self-declared germophobe. I wash my hands whenever there is the trace of something on them. I bite my nails to keep dirt from getting underneath them. To compensate for putting my nails in my mouth, I wash my hands a lot. Because I wash my hands a lot, I end up having really dry skin in the winter. I’m resentful of putting lotion on my hands because it feels like I have slime on my hands. This is something I go through. Additional to all of that, I take an extremely long time to brush my teeth. I also take showers almost every night. I also go to the bathroom whenever I feel a slight sensation. When I was younger, I used to be worse. I was not fond of eating from the same utensil as someone else. I’m still kind of disgusted by that. I also had a problem with my foods touching each other. I had to face a lot of these quirks head-on when I went on a five-day backpacking trip over the April break for a wilderness education class. It not only tested my will physically, but it also tested my mental will. I think that a five-day backpacking trip is extremely insightful to people like me who have a hard time when it comes to dirt and germs. During the hike, there was no showering. I had to hike and sweat for five days without showering. This was the lesser of the many evils. I’ve gone a couple of days where I went without showering, but I know way more people who have achieved this task more times than I. During the first two nights, it was so cold that I refused to leave my sleeping bag. This is when I was forced to face two of my fears: the cold and having to hold my pee. With that said, the first two nights were not pleasant. Also, just for your information, holding your pee is a great way to lose body heat. If I wasn’t so stubborn and tired, I probably would have been able to solve one problem and part of another. At the end of a day of hiking, however, sleeping is something you value. I also would hold my pee while we were hiking, so that I wouldn’t annoy the group with so many stops. These were decisions I made, whether or not they were correct ones. If you go on the trip, you should know that dirt goes everywhere. I forgot my hand sanitizer and all I had were hand wipes. Hand wipes were good enough for the most part. Plus, I could ask my tent partner for hand sanitizer. By the
end of the trip, the hand wipes did little to nothing to get the dirt from in between the creases of my hands. The hand sanitizer did get more of the dirt from my hands, but a lot of hand sanitizer on your hands is not good for your health, either. However, I did find the key to not biting your nails: don’t wash your hands. Jokes were thrown around about eating outdoors. “Mhmm . . . Oatmeal and dirt, my favorite.” “How much do you like eating pine needles?” I’d ask my tent partner. I ate a bagel that I dropped on the ground. This was after having spread the stickiest substance ever on it: peanut butter. I just lifted the leaves off of the peanut butter, attempted to scrape what little dirt was on the bagel and enjoyed that sandwich I so painstakingly created and desperately deserved. Not only did I put that peanut butter on that sandwich, but I also bought the items and carried them all the way to this particular section of forest. I was going to eat that peanut butter bagel. When I finally arrived back at Potsdam, starving because I hadn’t had lunch, I ate like a savage. I took food from friends’ plates. I ate more than I needed. I also ate a tomato that fell on the ground. I had changed. It’s not that I think that this backpacking trip fixed my problems. It’s more the fact that the trip made me more aware of my small quirks. Not only are they quirks that can be “fixed,” but they are quirks that are not the end of the world. Sometimes, I feel as if I don’t do something right this second, like go to the bathroom or wash my hands, I’ll probably die, when, in fact, that is not the case, as illustrated in my experiences above. It also makes me think about how to appreciate what we have. For instance, there’s my bagel experience. In restaurants or places of food distribution, a person doesn’t witness all that goes into putting that food on the table, which might be the explanation for throwing good food out. Also, I was very hungry by the time I got to the point of bagel-to-mouth position. When I dropped the bagel, no one was more sorry than I. Arguably, this was hunger-based regret, but it was also because there was nothing wrong with the bagel, except for a few leaves and dirt. I could hear my dad’s voice telling me, “It’s all going to the same place, isn’t it?” Finally, I’d hate to write an article without throwing in a feminist perspective. I do
Rebecca Augustine overcombs her germaphobia during her backpacking trip to appreciate the nature around her.
believe that part of the reason I take a shower every day is this incessant bug in my ear telling me that a girl must present herself in an attractive and clean way every day.
On the backpacking trip, I had a hat on the entire time, but one day, I was just sick of wearing it. I took off my hat and let my gross flat hair breath for a couple of hours. When I negatively commented on how my
Photo by Cayden Snow
hair must look, my group leader reassured me by asking me who I was trying to impress. No one cared what anyone looked like. We’re all gross together. We’re all going to the same place, aren’t we?
College Students Today Bettering Our World for Tomorrow Kathleen Parr
Contributing Writer
Seeing those big white puffy clouds in the sky while we stand on the bright green grass, we fall in love with Mother Nature over and over again. The beautiful sights to see all around the world, the people, the language and culture are all right here for us to see and be a part of. We are the generation that is going to keep our planet alive and stand for all the beauty there is around us. We are the generation that is going to change the world. The issue is pretty clear. It’s in our faces all day long, and you can see it if you’re looking left or looking right. Climate Change and the lack of sustainability: these two terms are growing in the world today at large. It’s time that we learn exactly what they mean and how to do our part to reverse these vicious cycles that are hurting our Mother Nature. Climate change is a change in weather patterns and climate in the atmosphere. This affects sea levels, rising temperatures and droughts, and it causes hurricanes to become stronger. Sustainability is the productivity and support of our biological systems and the relationship that we have with our planet. When we believe in sustainability, we believe in
life below and above the water, renewable energy, clean air, clean water, responsible consumption and innovation. Our generation needs to be mindful of these two environmental concerns so that we can do our best to spread awareness and take action. Here is a list of things that we can do in our beloved college town and take home with us to our families. Turn off your lights. An empty room likes to sleep, so make sure you flip the switch to “off.” Think of the amount of energy that it takes to brighten up our rooms. Stay away from plastic water bottles and get yourself a reusable, dishwasher-safe water bottle. Mine has become my best friend, and I know that many of you can say the same. Our campus has multiple water stations. Say “hi” to them. Recycle your paper, aluminum, glass and plastics. Today’s goal: find the recycling bin. Shorten your showers and don’t let the water run when you aren’t using it. Plant a garden. I recently started one in my own room with a few plants, and it’s already changing my world. Carpool to campus and back home for breaks. These tips and tools can make a difference. Spread the word and take action, folks. It’s our time to save the planet
and become more sustainable and knock climate change out the window. We need to think of our future, our world and generations yet to come. Think of everything that we can do now that our children will thank us for. Over Spring Break, I stayed in an “Earthship.” This is a home built completely with the earth and environment in mind, and it is made with reusable and recycled materials. I’m talking greenhouse, solar power, natural heating and cooling, collected rainwater and reusing bottles, cans and tires to help with the structure. This is an earth-friendly home that is making its way to save our future. This is a project that has been spreading and is working its way to neighborhoods near you. The cost is the same as your “average” home, except that in the end, this is going to save you money and energy. This experience has changed my entire world and I know that there are ways to live that Mother Nature would be proud of us for. It’s time for us to do it. Earthships are the future. Start planning now. All of these are ways that we can work together and push forward. These are “together” things. Let’s change the world today for our tomorrow.