Does this look familiar?
A few weeks ago my friend asked if I wanted to check out a rope swing on the nearby Conodoguinet River. A mere five minutes later, several of my friends and I were climbing a 40 foot fallen tree and taking the exhilarating plunge into the murky waters below. I am a sophomore at Dickinson and for the past year I have been exploring the Carlisle area, but this spot was all new to me. How could it be that so few people at Dickinson know about their surroundings outside of campus? The “bubble” of a small college is never more apparent when I talk to some of my friends who only leave campus to eat at the local chipotle.
My blog will document my experiences exploring Cumberland County primarily on my bike. It will highlight the hidden gems of the area, but also talk about the areas of poverty and disrepair with the goal of ultimately improving such places. If I meet locals on my trips I will talk to them about the area, learn about the history, and hopefully strengthen relationships between the school and the town. On my trip to the rope swing I talked with some locals about a nearby cave system, and learned that it was once used by bandits to escape underground after a heist. I envision that my blog will be able to talk about all these things. If an area needs cleaning, students will come with trash bags in hand. My blog will first and foremost show people of Dickinson routes through the countryside that they can easily follow.
There is a veritable “bubble” around the Dickinson campus. People who I talk to rarely venture as far the center of town, if at all. However this may not entirely be due to general apathy, and be more from lack of information. There is a demand for my blog, and I can’t wait to start designing and writing.
