Spring

Spring seems to be getting here. I haven't worn my winter coat in a couple weeks now, given that my lighter, more comfortable jacket seems to get the job done just fine. It's been sunny, too - and that helps a lot. About a month ago we had a rather large snow fall, and after campus maintenance had plowed, we were left with 10 foot tall mounds of snow outlining the streets and parking lots. These piles of snow are up (or down) to my knee. This is great.

Warmer weather means my horsemanship class is slightly more tolerable. I still have no idea why I registered for this class. Why not pilates? Why not aerobic walking? Yep, we actually have a class where you walk for an hour - but I decided to ride a horse each Tuesday night instead. Nothing about this class is ideal, and no matter how positive I try to be, I still feel like my Tuesday nights are virtually being wasted. I've even gone so far as to map it all out, which helps me bear it a bit better:

• 30 Minutes to drive to "the barn." (Why is it so far away?)
• 30 Minutes to groom and "tack" the horse. (My horse is Babe, and she has brain damage, according to the owner)
• 30 Minutes where I actually ride Babe. (She can't walk straight, and I fear for my safety)
• 30 Minutes where my partner (forgot her name) rides Babe. (I stand in the middle of the arena [in manure] and try to keep warm)
• 30 Minutes to re-groom and "un-tack" Babe. (By now my fingers are numb and I don't care if there's mud caked inside her hooves - she's gonna stand in it anyways)
• 30 Minutes to drive back to campus. (As I request for the driver to blast the heat, I fantasize about what will happen on "Lost" later that night)

Three hours a week devoted to a one-credit hour class where I will in no way use the obtained knowledge for future benefit. I honestly have half a mind to contact the PE department and ask them to reevaluate why this course is offered. Our school has an equestrian team, so I can see their reasoning, but honestly, if someone really wanted to be with these animals they would join the team - not take the class. Maybe I'm taking a biased approach to this. I really want to subtly (or un-subtly) ask another student if they honestly enjoy giving up three hours of their Tuesday night to ride a horse for 30 minutes. The best part of the class appropriately happens after the class has ended - when I get to watch "Lost" and think about how awesome it is that I have 6 days and 20 hours before I get to do it all over again.

I truly don't intend to be cynical about this. Online censorship is something I try to avoid when I write, but part of me almost has to put down a disclaimer. As a student, we're warmed to "protect" ourselves online - because, as we all know, every business from now until eternity is going to check your Facebook/MySpace/blog/Twitter account to make sure you appear to be an upstanding citizen. But I honestly doubt saying "I hate my horsemanship class" in a blog will ever haunt my future career. I can think of countless worse things, but part of me still asks, "What if someone from the school board sees this? Oh no! What if my horse instructor sees this?" My response to that is..."Good." I believe they need to hear that the course is insufficient.

I'm going to stick it out and finish the class out of choice, not out of obligation.

There's the positive spirit.

-B