Ho66ies relieve students' stress When the pressures ofstudyingfor tests and keeping up with classes became too much, students turned to hobbies to relieve stress. A widevarietyofactivitieswere done on campus, so no matterwhat a student's interests were, there were usually others who shared them. Fromplayingguitartoplayingsoccer,activities at Harding appealed to peoplewith all sorts of talents andinterests. In-line skating took its place among the popular pastimes. Freshman PaulaDurham skatedactively. ''Iskatetwotimesaweekandrun three times aweek, orelse I'll run two times and skatethreetimes. It'sgoodexercise,"shesaid. "I feel like it's less strenuous than running, but I feel like it's a betterworkoutformy legs." ForDurham, in-line skatingwas also a social activity. ''Myroommate, Kate, andlgotogether, andoftenit'stheonlytimewehavetogether. We skate around the campus, and we see a lot of people when we go around. It's a great break fromhomework." Hobbiesthatarenotathleticwerealsoeffective stre srelievers. "Iplaytheguitareveryday," freshmanEricaMcDaniel said. "I like itbecause I can entertain, and I can also express myself throughmusic." McDanielfoundotheradvantagestoherhobby. "Icantakemyguitaranywhereldecidetotakeit. Iliketoplayitonthelawn,outwithfriendsorin my room, but I'm not limited to any of these places,"she said. ChrisJacksonalsohadahobbythathecould doanytimeandanyplace. Hewasanavidskate boarder. "I skateboardwhenever it's dry and I need to go somewhere. It's my basic tran portation. It's a faster way to get Theron Williams unwinds from a long day with a little tee time. The dorm was a place where hobbie were cultivated. Photo by Jeff Fall. 38 Hobbies around. The front steps of the Benson are really fun." Campingwas also a popular activity among Harding students. Sophomore KevinMartin camped about once a month. "People go every weekend. I usuallygo about once amonth. I like to get awaywith all the guys and goofoff. We enjoywhatGodgaveus. It's a time that I relax since I am awayfrom the busyworld." However, for a time ofrelaxation,Martinand his friends stayed plenty busy. "When we go camping, sometimes we ride our bikes. We'll bringour guns and shoot them or shoot skeet. Wehike, rappel andfish." Eatingcouldbeanadventurefortheseguys. "Sometimeswetakeourownmeat,"Martinsaid. "Ifwe fish, we oftenjust cook the fish we've caught and live offthe land. Or we'll just eat beans from the can." Socceralsobecamea popular cam pusactivity. "It'sthecoolestsportrightnow,"saidfreshman GenaRouse, who playswith a teamofgirls that got themselves together and entered a Little Rockassociation. "Itneedstobeintegratedinto the sports programatHarding," she said. "I like how I can playsoccertostayinshape, and I like gettingtoknowpeople andplayingas a team. It relieves my stress as opposed to studying." Rouse started playing soccer after she had watchedhersisterplayforayear. "Iwouldgoto her games and I thought I could play, too. I thoughtitlookedfun.Anditwasfunbecauseyou got to playwith the guys and beat them." Whetherasarelieffromstress,procrastination fromstudies orjustplainfun, hobbies consumed l great deal of time for students. - Sara VanRheenen
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