Value every falling leaf on campus this autumn

As autumn begins, so too does our need to stop and appreciate the beauty all around us.

As a daughter of a Bennie-Johnnie couple, I have been traveling to SJU ever since I can remember. St. John’s has always held a special place in my heart, especially its autumns. The red, orange and yellow leaves, the chilly weather and the calm, beautiful lake are all reminiscent of my younger years.

When my family and I would trudge through the Arboretum, I remember my dad telling me, “Don’t step on any leaves!” Clearly, he was just messing with me–for the leaves were scattered everywhere as far as eye could see–but I remember challenging myself to see how quiet I could be as I inevitably crunched thousands of leaves throughout those years. Maybe that was his goal–to keep me and my brothers from causing too much of a ruckus as we explored these unfamiliar trails.

After every walk, my family and I went to eat at the Reef, although, at the time, I still called it the Refectory (I obviously wasn’t up to date with all the well-known campus lingo). I remember passing by the college students and thinking how inspiring and cool they were, all grown up and independent. Future me knows that we are not as grown up and independent as we may appear.

The autumns are special in a different way now that I live on campus. Good memories echo through the trees that I once walked through. The stargazing, the praise and worship by the chapel and the iconic rock behind St. John’s Prep, all of these moments overwhelm every chilly day at SJU. Have you ever just stopped and stared at the beauty around this campus?

I feel strangely emotional when I think about the time I’ve spent walking on the cobblestone paths leading to the Reef, Sexton, Alcuin, Lake Sag, The Record office and the Abbey. It’s almost as if every step leads to a new adventure, opportunity or story to tell.

I can’t begin to describe how quickly time has flown by. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was receiving my acceptance letter and Bennie shirt in the mail. I feel like I’ve been counting down every day, and the leaves begin to fall before I can even appreciate them. Soon enough we’ll be walking across the stage during graduation, and I’ll be refusing to listen to any song that reminds me of my time at CSB and SJU because I know that I’ll cry the second one comes on.

I encourage you to value these autumn days before the snow begins to fall and the winds get icy cold. Value who you were before college and who you have become. Value the unknown. Value every Friday night adventure, every excursion in the Arb, every funny professor, every treacherous stair in the Quad, every Johnnie football game and every falling leaf.

Value it all because soon enough, you’ll be driving away after graduation and realizing that though you will always be a Bennie or Johnnie, you will never be the same as you were during these short four years. Soon we’ll be bringing our kids to campus every autumn to experience the beauty that we once had the opportunity to walk by every day. Soon these autumns will be just as beautiful but mean something so different than what they mean today or when I was a little kid.

Let’s enjoy this autumn on campus. There’s so much we don’t know. But for now, all I know is that home is where the heart is, and my heart is here.