From a Window
Not much has changed from my window’s perspective, at least not when I compare the first photo I took while looking out of my window to this one. The trees are green, the sky is in a state threatening rain but warding the sun away (perfect weather), and Nashville is just down the road, though traffic will make the road seem a little longer. At the same time, the window has seen a lot: the changing of the seasons, furious storms and pleasant evenings, snowball fights and half-made men, and the failures and successes of Frisbee-goers.
That doesn’t even mention what the window has seen on the inside of this room. Surely, it has witnessed a vast array of human emotion and experience, even if it was just glimpsing into the stories of my roommates and me. Personally, I know the window has seen me struggle. College isn’t the most stressful time in life, but it has its moments; the window has watched me knock out papers at nigh obscene speeds and study material that I cannot understand on my life!
Some things are just impossible until you do them, though. When I struggled, when I cried, and when I needed help and help was not there, I looked through this window and saw this view, in whatever form it assumed on that day, and I made it through the year. This view is not a picture of property or of the result of my success in life; it is the expectation that I have given myself. When I look through this window, I see everything I ought to be: in nature, I see what is true and wholesome; in the Commons, I see investment in community; in the city, I see the perpetual struggle for greatness. I have seen this view every morning for months, and it will be the last thing I see as I conclude my first year at Vanderbilt. Looking through this window has helped me so much; I guess that just goes to show how a change in perspective can make an enormous impact.
Or it’s just a window, right?
I know one thing: I’m going to be gaining all kinds of perspectives next year! I’ll be planning events with VPB’s The VenUe, experiencing and learning about new cultures and religions in my Mayfield Project, hopefully moving up in VSG and some creative writing organizations, and who knows what else! Take a look at what The VenUe has already done:
Commodore Coffee Break was just one of many events that The VenUe plans throughout the year, and I can’t wait to be a bigger part of it and so many new and exciting organizations. My classes are set (all eighteen hours of them), my mind is ready, and I can’t wait to get started again. Sophomore year ain’t ready for this!