OPINION: Wallace residents attend outdoor scavenger hunt

Scavenger hunts and getting to know new friends

Lately, I have been spending most of my time indoors, staring at the same four, white walls of my dorm room. Being stuck indoors without socializing is tiring. I’m sure I’m not the only one itching for something to do at this point either. Homework and working for the Argonaut takes up a good portion of my time outside of work and classes.  

As the three-day weekend loomed closer, I kept an eye out for things I could do to get outdoors and safely socialize. A poster on my resident assistant’s hall calendar caught my attention, presenting the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. 

The Wallace West Quest, hosted by Wallace RAs, took place over Labor Day and gave me the chance to explore campus as well as spend time getting to know my floormates.

My roommate and I decided to participate in the Wallace West Quest excited to be given a reason to go outdoors.  

The event started at 6 p.m. near the big, open field on the west side of Wallace. Clues to where the prize certificates were hidden at were posted on the Wallace West Quest Instagram page. We raced to find prizes at the hinted locations posted online.  

The six prizes included an electric kettle, a yoga mat, a 300-piece poker set, a half-gallon water bottle and a school pack, popcorn and a movie, and a snack pack.  

If we could not find the certificate for a prize after a certain amount of time, more picture clues were posted.  

Some of the students rushed from location to location while others took their time walking. One student got creative and roade a skateboard around to the different locations, careful to avoid grassy areas.  

While running around trying to find the certificates, it was easy to strike up casual conversation with the other students around me. It was nice to participate in the fun with others. Even though I didn’t know them, we quickly became acquainted by chatting about our common interest in attending the scavenger hunt.  

One student who won two prizes gave one of the certificates to another student who didn’t have one, which I thought was really neat to see among strangers.  

I found my certificate in the stack of campus information pamphlets in the parking lot right across the street from the Stevenson Wing. One person already searched through them, but I figured I would give it a shot, and luckily it paid off in the end.  

I won the popcorn and movie prize. The movie was “Say Anything” with John Cusack and the iconic boombox over the head scene. My roommates and I have yet to eat the 12 packs of popcorn, but the movie provided a good way for us to sit down together for an evening.  

In the end, it wasn’t about winning a prize. That’s just half the fun. The other half is getting to know people in Wallace and those you live with.  

I can always buy myself popcorn and a movie. I can’t buy time, moments, and memories. I have to get out and make those myself with people I might one day call my friends. 

People living in the dorms, where there is so little space for so many, should take advantage of events like the Wallace West Quest and use the opportunity to make new friends. 

Kim Stager can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @journalismgoals. 

About the Author

Kim Stager Senior at the University of Idaho, majoring in Broadcasting and Digital Media. I work for the opinion and photography sections at the Argonaut.

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