In November and December, all juniors embarked on a light hike and solitude experience in nature with Reset Outdoors.

Much like the work of Dalia el-Fahum and her dissertation of collecting the sounds of her natural environment in Colum McCann’s Apeirogon, we spent time outdoors in Jacobsburg State Park, being mindful of ourselves and the space we inhabit. After our experience, we reflected on our time spent in this natural environment.

MA has partnered with Reset Outdoors in the past, and all students have found their experience to be positive. Here is a sampling of two students’ responses:

I was a little nervous but mostly excited about the experience. I was worried about how I would deal with being alone with my thoughts for such an extended period of time without distractions like music. I was comforted by the confidence and kindness shown from the very beginning by Connor and the rest of the team. They had all clearly had a lot of experience with other groups and were obviously passionate about their work. I also enjoyed how passionate they seemed about our class and the material we covered along with the ideas we were exploring on the field trip.

I feel like this experience really helped me relax. I've been really stressed recently, and this just gave me a little time to relax, breathe, and realize these stresses aren't the end of the world. Being in touch with nature just really is special and shows you how the world will go on, and you will be ok. I have an even more positive outlook on solitude now because previously all though I knew it was a positive, I was intimidated by it and I didn't know if it would necessarily benefit me, but it definitely did.

The Reset Outdoors team facilitated our hike, our meditative experience, and our discussion about what we noticed, observed, and felt. It was a wonderful experience to be mindful of our surroundings and ourselves without outside world distractions. This experience will inspire and inform the creative and thoughtful work of the juniors’ Cantos Project, the culminating project of the semester of Writing and Rhetoric.