Four Years at the Mount

Sophomore Year

(April, 2011) When the buds are forming on the trees, the grass is turning green, and flowers are starting to grow it is a sure sign that spring is in the air. After being stuck inside all winter with our houses and dorm rooms pounded by snow and ice, we cannot wait to get out in the fresh air. Mount students definitely fall into the category of people itching to get outside. Everyone is sick of walking to class and the ARCC in the cold, falling on ice, and trying to dig their cars out of the parking lot after a lot of snow has fallen.

It’s interesting how our perspective changes as we go through the seasons. When the snow first falls, everyone is excited and acts like little kids who can’t wait to go into the sea of white to build a snowman, have a snowball fight, and sled down Echo Field. That childlike feeling wears off because as we grow older we are forced to clean snow from sidewalks and streets and in the process slip on the ice. Since we have to deal with the stress of the work that is involved with snow we quickly lose our sense of wonder.

By the time the buds slowly appear and the grass beings to turn green we know in our hearts that soon we will have flowers. At the Mount spring means that students are coming out of their dorms into the sunshine they have been longing for. Sports practices are held outside, the campus starts to look like spring with the appearance of benches, flowers at the entrances, and blue umbrellas on the picnic tables. As the students see these things that the university does we can believe that it won’t be cold forever.

You don’t see a lot of colleges that put such an emphasis on the landscape of the campus which I believe is one of the ways that the Mount stands out. Our campus’ landscape is always beautiful, well kept, and polished. It gives the Mount a homelike and inviting feeling, something that the majority of universities don’t have. In the spring time we have the added feature of the mountains surrounding us, seeming to hug us with the green beauty of all the leaves on the trees after the long winter. The landscape is one of the aspects that have a lasting effect on prospective students and the student body. I know for myself and a lot of other people that the benches to sit on outside, the green grass and the gardens around the buildings are some of the best parts about the Mount’s campus. They give the feeling of a home away from home. However, having flowers in the pots by the entrance ways until the snow falls a couple times is a little crazy to me, but that’s probably because I’m from Wisconsin and flowers can’t last outside there very long.

The attitude of the students becomes more positive as these changes happen. Students seem happier, and sometimes when it is really nice out classes convince their professors to teach outside. Some people would think that you can’t concentrate then, trying to study and listen with hustle and bustle all around you, but I pay more attention because I am still outside enjoying the beautiful weather, instead of being inside all day, trying to listen when all I really want to do is lie outside and read.

Every student does run into trouble with procrastination when there is a beautiful 70 degree day, and they need to be doing homework but instead go outside and lie in the grass to tan, read, or play catch. When you are out there enjoying the warm weather you can bet you are going to see other people procrastinating just like you. It’s awesome seeing everyone coming together to celebrate spring’s coming. It’s also comforting knowing that you aren’t the only one anxious to go out and be active instead of being stuck inside. Even if you are reading or doing homework, there is a different feel to when you are outside lying in the sunshine compared to lying on your bed with the lights on. The sunlight cheers your mood.

The coming of spring is an exciting time at the Mount because we see the campus transform from the dull gray of winter to the beautiful colors of spring. We see the landscape being touched up, flowers placed at the entrances, umbrellas inserted into tables, and we feel the warmth of the sunshine. All of these changes give us a more cheerful outlook on life.