I write this as I sit on the porch of the yurt, still wearing the long johns, wool sweater, and headlamp that I fell asleep with last night. It feels like fall. Gray skies and blustery winds ripple the prayer flags across the field and attempt to pry the most stubborn of the remaining leaves off of the trees. It’s getting to that time. As temperatures started dropping and the first snow of the year hit the ground, our group, one by one, has started packing up and heading over to the warmer, cozier dorms. Homework. Organization. Warmth. Practicality. We have no commitment to stay here. Which is where it starts to feel less like a group effort and more like a personal journey. This is the first time I’ve questioned WHY I’m here.

From day one, we all knew why we were here. All for slightly different reasons, but each revolving around the same core ideas. (There are several excellent blog posts that sum it up well.) But why now- with 15 degree nights and ice in our water bottles, when its nearly impossible to shower every day and we have no where to go after 10 at night to work on homework- when our first job, which is to be a student, is at times compromised- why now are we here? I can honestly say that right now I don’t have an answer to that.

Is it simply to bike home at night and brush my teeth under the stars? To fall asleep to loons and wake up slowly to a frosted world? Is it to prove something to myself; or even worse- to other people? All I know is that the day I move into the dorm will not be the end of this. The values that I’ve gotten by living like this for a few months will mix into the fibers of how I see the world, and how I choose to live my life.

Since living here, I’ve gotten rid of my phone and pledged with one of my friends to make dinner outside on our camp stoves instead of eating at the dining hall. I’ve spent more time wandering in the woods with my camera and writing in my journal. I’ve taken more deep breaths and been grateful for the incredible world that we are surrounded by. The lessons I’ve learned have been general and vague, more like feelings; but those can be the most powerful and longest lasting.

The amount of support and interest from the community really surprised me. But I think it goes to show the trend in our society leaning toward simplicity and sustainability. The curiosity of what it feels like to live, by choice, with a lot less than other people.

So for those of you sitting at home in your cozy warm house reading this, you don’t have to drop everything and move into a yurt to find out. Start small. Start a garden. Turn your phone off for a day. Get rid of some stuff, or buy less. Turn your heat down. Ride your bike somewhere. Take your kids camping. At lease be aware of the footsteps you leave on this Earth, and don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone every now then. Do things that make you ask questions; you just might find your own reason WHY.