Well hello there once again everyone! The time has come for another Diva Lesson. It’s like I always say, there’s more room to grow, and room to learn constantly. Therefore, one can always pick up new tips and tricks through a careful reading of the Diva Lessons which I provide each week! So, that being said, I think it’s just about time that we hit the books, wouldn’t you say? Get ready for it, cause here it comes: Diva Lesson #17: “Snowy Realness”!

The first week of classes seemed to fly by. My schedule is a little more relaxed this semester than it has been in previous ones, with the exceptions of Wednesdays, which have me running around the clock. Other than that though, I have the chance to sleep late most days, and only have one or two classes each day, always late in the afternoon. Due to this, I have time during the day to get work done, and do other things which I need to get accomplished. I think it also helps the weeks to go by rather quickly too, if you ask me. I’ll update you more on my classes in a later post. They’re all pretty legit for the most part. So anyway, like I said, the first week of classes seemed to go by very quickly.

Since the week I came back to school, I had been looking forward to the first weekend of the semester after classes had started. Student Development was having a Welcome Back Weekend trip on Sunday for the first-year students, and they needed some of the Orientation Leaders to go on the trip and supervise everyone who was on the trip. The trip was a day trip to Hunter Mountain, a little north of New Paltz, where the students could go snow tubing! I don’t even remember the last time that I had gone snow tubing, so I jumped at the chance to be one of the people who got to go on the trip. Plus, it was free! How could I possibly say no? The trip was very popular and filled up before the middle of the week, so we knew that there was going to be very high attendance for the trip.

So, that Sunday afternoon, I got my things together, and prepared for my trip with OLs Stef and Jon. We loaded up our bus with the students, and headed off. It’s a very nice trip, especially when it’s nice out because you can see all of the beautiful mountain views, and driving through the town of Hunter was also interesting in its own right, because it’s a quirky and unique town that’s very colorful and vibrant. I think the scariest part of the trip was when we were driving up the side of the mountain, and the bus seemed to stop and like it didn’t want to move forward. But no worries, because our bus driver was great and she of course managed to get us safely to our destination!

Once we arrived, we met our guide or liaison for the trip, and he led us to a booth where we could get our tickets for going snow tubing. It turned out that the tubing works in various sessions, and Student Development rented out one entire session, so that it would just be the New Paltz students riding on the hills and tubing without other people there. This was a nice surprise, and I think it made the students even more excited for the trip as well. Once we gave out the tickets and everything, the students ran to the slope with their tubes, and began heading up the hill, before racing town. Going tubing was so much fun! We were able to go in groups, and there were a few times when Stef, Jon and I all went down together. We would fly down the hill really quickly and spin around, and Stef recorded some of it too. It was wonderful! The only bad part was that of course, I decided to wear shorts for the occasion and my knees payed the price, getting kind of scraped up (there’s still some scars, but it’s my own fault hahaha). When people were cold, or didn’t feel like tubing any longer, there was a great little cabin area that they could go in and buy food, or just sit around with their friends. This was also really nice, since it was dark and therefore it was getting colder.

But, I think the best part of the trip was when, on two particular runs towards the end of the trip, the staff for the snow tubing section of Hunter Mountain let everyone go down together in one giant mass, all holding onto each other. I was put in charge of filming, so I didn’t take part, but it was really hilarious to watch it all happen. I think the total amount of people they sent down at once was 32. When I was filming it, everyone started out very small at the top of the mountain, and then suddenly they picked up speed, and flew by the front of the camera very quickly, and I could heard everyone laughing and screaming. I think everyone had a fabulous time, and I think that Student Development is considering doing the trip again because so many people signed up to take the trip with us.

Overall, it was a very fun time, and it was a great trip. Being a student can be a lot of work, but at the same time, there’s a big reward for staying dedicated and working very hard. That reward is getting to be involved with different organizations and departments here on campus which work towards providing students with an array of fun things for them to do. That’s why I love being involved with departments such as Student Development, and I look forward to other involvements in the future as well. Sometimes, it just comes down to letting loose, letting go, and enjoying the ride. Especially when it means enjoying the snowy realness of winter! That’s why this Diva Lesson, #17, is entitled: “Snowy Realness!”