A Saturday Morning in Obieland

In a small campus like Oberlin, it is easy to feel over time like you run into the same people. As much as I love being a part of a tight-knit community, having lived the city life most of my life, I do feel at times like I'm in a tiny bubble. As an introvert, it can get exhausting sometimes to greet and chat with every other person I bump into as I walk from one end of the campus to the other.

Over time, I realized that I find it very restorative to sleep early every other Friday night and enjoy the calm that Saturday mornings bring me when most of the college campus is fast asleep, but Oberlin town is wide awake! 

In reality, it is hard to draw a line between where the campus ends and where the town begins since everything is within walking distance and takes almost always less than 15 minutes, but exploring new parts of the town away from the college can make all the difference. I find Saturday mornings the best time to explore parts of the town that I haven't before. So here is what one of my Saturday mornings this month looked like: 

• Wake up around 7 am: Waking up early, especially in the summers, helps beat the heat! 
• Haircare: Pampering myself with a coconut oil hair treatment and shower as I hear my favorite podcast. 
• Meditation: For about 5-10 minutes using the Headspace app.
• Art Rental DAY!! : Art rental from the Allen Memorial is a big deal for Obies. Usually, it is an entire experience. Students wait overnight to get their hands on the art piece of their choice. However, due to COVID-19, the policies had been modified slightly. I could just walk in and choose a piece of art out of the 5 displayed to me. 

• Oberlin Farmers Market: Oh! how I wish I had been to the farmers market sooner during my time here at Oberlin! It was wonderful to interact with all the local Oberlin members and learn about the things on their stalls. I personally loved trying the sour grape (with jelly) macaroon and looking through the various soaps and sugar scrubs. After a good amount of sampling the different soaps and lotions, I finally settled with the 'amaretto' sugar scrub, which smells delicious and feels great on my skin found at 'The Slovak Farm.' I would say there is something for everyone at this small and personal Farmers Market. 
• Oberlin Public Library: The public library is adjacent to the farmers market. It takes about 2 minutes to get a library card and check out/ sit and read some incredible books. My favorite part is the browsing experience. As much as I love Mudd/Terrell library on campus, it feels great to be around the town folks for a change.

  

   

As I walk back to campus after my morning shenanigans, Oberlin campus slowly begins to rise out of its slumber, and I see fellow Obies grabbing their brunch boxes from Stevie dining hall. I walk back to my Oberlin family, feeling re-energized after my escape on Saturday mornings!