My Winterim Journey With Potty Training Myself: A Reflection

During this winterim break, my social media feeds were full of my classmates skiing, traveling abroad, and hanging out with friends from high school. While my peers spent time at home, I harbored my newfound talent of going potty in a toilet. Discovering this new skill changed my life forever. 

2023 is about self-improvement, so there was no better time to achieve my biggest goal: potty training. Dave, a ’24 from my bio class, spent his extra time reading ahead in his textbook to better understand the material. But he was shocked to see me finally able to wear smaller shorts, diaper-free, this past Wednesday. He even said, “dude, you wore diapers until this year? I thought you were just thick.” This misunderstanding has only strengthened our friendship, and has shown me how supportive a friend Dave is. 

I have to thank my floormates for supporting me on this journey. Last term, they were surprised to see my diapers in the trash. Then, they were even more surprised to see them go!  I am really fortunate to be able to go to a place like Dartmouth where everyone gets supported through the stages of their life – from Huggies, Pampers, Pull-ups, and – finally – diaper-free. They have even tolerated long wait times to our floor bathroom, thanks to my trial-and-error. (Whoops!) 

Others following my journey can see step-by-step improvement on my Instagram memory titled “✨potty 🤢😱😧🤯 progress💫✨:  by ✨me ✨ <33🚽”. This journey was my own, but I am happy to share. I’m not going to quit my other hobbies or anything, but I enjoy my new avocation. The ability to aim with precision when I practice my hobby fills the bowl with my waste and me with my pride.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Big Boy Pants to buy. 

— SL ‘22, JT ‘23