As a first year, it’s really easy to stay inside the Harvard bubble. From food, activities, and more, it seems that Harvard’s campus has anything and everything one could want. 

And if it doesn't?

It’s easy to just take the red line into Boston and spend the day there. 

But what happens when you want to leave? 

That’s what I wondered about my first semester here. Though I loved the accessibility of Boston, the homeliness atmosphere of campus, and even just walking through Harvard Yard, I found myself quickly growing tired of the scenery around campus. 

And so, I took a trip. 

Every week, Harvard’s First Year Experience office sends out an email with information about what’s going on around campus for first-years. Some weeks, it’s primarily academic news, such as deadlines, and some it’s fun opportunities, like outings, club events, and campus wide events. I really tried to make the most of the different events. 

For the first, I went to the Harvard Forest (Harvard’s 4000 acre research forest) and, in addition to walking around the trails, we even got to go up one of the observatory towers and see the expanse of the trees. Though it isn't accessible by public transit, it's only an hour and thirty minute drive. The FYE did get a school bus to transport us there, but there are ample rental car options in the Cambridge area. 

For my second trip of the season, we went apple picking! Unfortunately I can't remember where, but it was amazing! On the ride there I was marveling at the start of the fall foliage, and on the way back I was so tired from apple picking I was fighting sleep! It was really fun, and I had a real cultural awakening: I learned that apple cider is essentially the sweet tea of the Northeast! Personally, I didn't understand the apple cider love until I tried spiced cider.  

For my third escapade, I took a solo trip to the Natick Mall. It's about thirty minutes west of Harvard, but instead of renting a car or taking an Uber, I took public transit and it was so easy!

At the time, I didn't know much about the commuter rail so I was terrified of trying it out (don't worry it's so easy to use!). Instead, I took the classic public transit path to the airport (Red line to South station, Silver line 1 to the airport), and from there I took a bus from Boston to Framingham, where the bus stop was only about ten minutes from the mall! It was really nice, but unfortunately I didn't spend a lot of time there. 

 And in my second semester, I did something similar: I went on a hike with the Outing Club, and then I went to Maine with my first year seminar! All in all, Harvard has so many opportunities for students to get away from campus, and really explore the areas surrounding campus.