Somehow, someway, Dead Week has come again to Stanford. A little over a year ago, during my first-ever Week 10, I was taken aback by the labeling of an entire week as non-living. Surely it was a waste of precious time to do such a thing. And ever since that fateful freshman fall, I have made it a point to live ardently during these upcoming five days. This will be my fifth of such weeks, and as such I have a relatively well-stocked arsenal of go-to spots and plans, both on campus and off.
In terms of on-campus respites, stretched out, catlike, on Meyer Green with a chai from Coupa is an invigorating way to spend an hour between classes, perhaps working on a research paper or just admiring the dexterity of fellow Stanford students as they maneuver through the bike traffic. Lake Lag at 4:30 p.m. is also quite a sight, boasting picnic tables often laden with snacks, textbooks and leaned-upon elbows. You would be surprised at the accessibility and ease of climbing on the rock walls at the Arrillaga Outdoor Recreation Center. Shoe rental is a few dollars, and routes range from hardly breaking a sweat to scaling the face of a cliff. Finally, knee-deep in the pressures and anxieties of wrapping up 10 weeks of learning, the Bing Wing Green Library fountain in the mid-afternoon sun, saddled up next to the rose bushes, is conducive to any and all manner of self-reflection.
In terms of making your off-campus Dead Week dreams a reality, I can’t recommend Allied Arts Guild enough. A collection of gardens arranged around artisanal shops and a scrumptious café, there is no better place to strike that balance between work and beauty. Looking to pass the day indoors instead? Make your way to Tea Time, a fully stocked tea house complete with a vast array of loose-leaf flavors arranged in delicate tins and served hot with your choice of tea sandwiches, scones and desserts. Looking to pass a few hours and sink your teeth into four inches of chocolate cake? The Prolific Oven on Waverly Street is a favorite after-school, after-work gathering spot for sugar aficionados. Finally, if find yourself craving a strawberry milkshake from a tall metal cup? The Peninsula Creamery boasts real soda jerks a la 1952 and booths primed for spreading out your papers and books.
When it comes down to it, life at any time can be full of color and joy, and it is truly a matter of adjusting your thinking to noticing the glorious amidst the difficult and striking out in pursuit of drinking deeply of the many possible ways of existing.
Contact Hannah Broderick at inbloom ‘at’ stanford.edu.