Every morning at 7:40am, I crack my eyes open to the early darkness of my single room, plunge down from my lofted bed, and unsteadily march towards campus.
I don't have a class. I'm not really a morning person. But I arrive at school at 8am and make my way down to the Barnard athletics department, still somewhat groggy, to plunge myself into the water and swim laps for half an hour to start the day.
Your question is probably "why?" It doesn't seem very appealing - to dunk yourself in cold water and exercise straight away in the morning. But since I have started working to save the Barnard pool from being closed this year, I've gotten more and more attached to that space. Attached enough to beat back my morning sleepiness and start swimming there every day that the pool is open, at the only time that I'm available to before all the hustle and bustle of the day.
