Ultimately

You may have been asking “Sam, where are the squirrels?” or “Why have your posts been almost exclusively focused on the changing seasons?” but not to worry; this post incorporates all of the past content in a concise post that ends this fondly regarded segment (at least I like to think it is). But here we go, one way or another, everything has got to come to an end.

We’ll start off with the long-awaited squirrel image, although this one was a little bit too skittish to get close to, maybe a bit squirrely, if you will. Hunching in the leaves, this chubby little man was munching on a fallen acorn, catching my attention with his thick layer of fur which indicated he was prepared for winter. As I watched him down another acorn, I realized he was definitely not missing many meals. But in observing this chittering, chill creature, I recognized that I was beginning to feel equally content, stress-free and starting to enjoy life for what it is.

As you can see if you squint hard enough – apologies for the poor picture by the way – two jets are flying by one another in the great blue sky above the HUB. This was not my best photograph but I felt that it encapsulated the college experience for a majority of people; even in the emptiest of paths, the only other person is going a different way than you are. But we’re all working on getting where we want to go, regardless of where anyone else may be headed. And that’s true of more than just school: everyone you meet is at a different stage in their life. Some people may finish out their undergraduate degrees, go onto their graduate degrees, and finish with a good paying job opportunity essentially in their lap. And some people may choose a different path from any of those steps, choosing to work after undergrad or maybe not even finishing it. We do a lot of comparing ourselves to those around us, but we tend to give everyone the benefit of the doubt except for us.

This image of the moon shining brightly above Redifer, the dining commons at South, paired nicely with the leafless tree and setting sun. What do they have in common, you may ask? They all are typically associated with more negative connoted things, such as the coming of night, winter, and death. But to me, the moon is more beautiful than the sun, not because it is the brightest thing in the sky, but because it can reflect starlight even at the darkest hours. Likewise, the trees with no leaves are easier to see beauty in, their transparency leaving the squirrel and bird nests easy to spot silhouetted against the sky and branches. Lastly, the sunset before the dusk is my personal favorite time of day, especially during the winter when both the waning light and the darkening dusk are beautifully fleeting before it becomes night time at 5:30 PM. Good and bad are subjective, as is beauty, but sometimes all it takes is a Warm Glow to reassure you that ultimately, I believe we’ll be okay.