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1. to shut up in or as if in a pound; to seize and hold; to take possession of 2. to collect and confine (water) in or as if in a reservoir THE DAM After eighteen months of spiritual erosion on the job, I could no longer perform the self-evasion of mind necessary to deny the…
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Prevailing conditions refer to the current state of the environment or that individuals or entities must observe and adapt to in order to survive. CLIMBING ABOARD Entering my second year with the firm felt like coming up for air after being rag dolled underwater by rough surf. Eight months of banging out data entry for…
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Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work until they have paid back a debt, usually a specific number of years. The arrangement, common until the late 18th century, was unlike slavery in two important ways: it was not predetermined by birth, and it was not lifelong. It…
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Disillusionment is a process that varies by context (relationships, careers, major events) but generally moves from idealization to disappointment and is characterized by a loss of enthusiasm, the identification of meaningful flaws, and a search for coping mechanisms potentially leading to detachment or a crisis point. See also: early adulthood. GETTING STARTED Transitioning from college…
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In hiking, mountaineering, and other alpine pursuits, a false summit refers to a point initially perceived as the final destination or apex, but, having been reached, instead reveals a new vantage from which the true destination, further still, can be observed. PRE-ORIENTED From the beginning, I knew what I was at college to do. Academic…
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In celestial mechanics, escape velocity refers to the minimum speed a body must achieve to escape the gravitational pull of a planet or other object. GRAVITY I first felt the tug of gravity when I was five years old. Until then, I floated in the protective bubble of a two-parent home, unaware of the strong…
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Our paths converge in the wilderness. A TWIGGY BUNDLE Hello and welcome. Imagine for a moment that we have come upon each other in the woods, both journeying in the same direction at a similar pace. We exchange nods and perfunctory greetings and find after a short while that our strides align. The question soon…