Taking A Walk Down Memory Lane on an Unexpected Spring Day

"I think I'll go for a walk outside now.
The summer sun's calling my name.
Can you hear me now? I just can't stay inside all day,
Got to get out, get me some of those rays…"

Sunshine Day from the Brady Bunch

I like this song. It's so fun, so catchy. Makes me want to put on a knit jumpsuit with flared legs and just start dancing. I've done crazier things!

Today was an absolutely beautiful, gorgeous spring day (although technically it's still winter). The temperature nearly hit 70 degrees, so I did just what the song suggests: took a walk outside.

Hadn't planned it, but around 3 p.m., I decided to take a much-needed break from work and go for a Starbucks iced coffee. After taking the short walk across the parking lot only to discover that the campus Starbucks was closed, I thought it's the perfect day for a walk across campus to the food court for a milkshake or ice cream or something.

It was nice to take a walk across campus. Seeing all the students walking, biking and skateboarding their way to classes or to meet friends—many dressed in shorts, although I'm not sure it's time for that yet (it is still winter)—it reminded me of my own college experience many, many, many (okay not that many) years ago.

I was pretty reticent at first about the office move back to campus. The location we were in seemed perfect, conveniently located as it was across the street from a shopping mall! But now that we're here, I like it. I like the energy of campus life, of being surrounded by people excited about exploring new things and exchanging ideas. I have many fond memories of college and the lessons learned, both in and outside of the classroom.

The long nights spent in my dorm's study hall or the library cramming for exams or typing a 500-page paper. Analyzing works by social scientists, philosophers and poets like Pavlov, de Tocqueville, Byron, Bronté, W.E.B Dubois, Toni Morrison. Classical music and coffee—I developed a taste for both in college that still persists.

Then there was basketball, Soul Night, learning the Carlton, and the "crispy critter" (don't ask). Plus those many spring days hanging out on the quad studying, while also trying to capture the attention of some cute guy like the one in my Contemporary Drama class, because even then I could multi-task. I never did catch his attention even after my riveting performance as an orphaned biracial woman grieving the loss of the biological father who'd abandoned/disowned her. (Seriously, it was Oscar-worthy. Even my professor was moved to tears and our group earned an A+. Oh well... his loss.)

But what are my best memories of college? My many, many friends. What a diverse group they were. I could never have them all in one room together. Fights would break out. (I know this because I tried... once.) And yet, aside from helping me to develop my diplomacy skills, they taught me acceptance, forgiveness, to value and appreciate differences, and to have fun.

These are lessons I am still learning.

"Wonderful things, no matter how fleeting, are never a waste." (Author unknown, from the Internet)