Whenever I need an escape from my mind, I travel to the one place on campus where I can find true solace. Towards the Northern end of the creek, on the West side of the Sports Center, sits a simple bench tucked away amongst the trees. It is all but hidden from many of the surrounding buildings, and faces away from the majority of campus, allowing the sensation of near complete solitude from the rest of the world.
I discovered this little hideaway about a year and a half ago, in the beginning of my sophomore year. Life was crazy at the time and I desperately required some place to go where I knew I didn't have to hide from anyone, a place I could let my guard down. It was by pure chance that I stumbled upon this oasis, merely in my explorations of the canyon did I happen upon the place, on one day when it was just what I needed.
The entirety of my junior year so far, I have sought out this bench again and again. With so much to do and never enough time to get things done, I find myself craving that separation from it all. I go to that place where there are no expectations of what I should do or who I should be, and the trees are good listeners.
When I can get away from life for a bit, I will go and sit on that bench. This time of year the wood is cold underneath me and the damp sinks into my clothes. I don't often notice it until I’ve sat there for at least an hour. However, at that point, my skin is often too numb to notice the biting moisture until I am back indoors and my cheeks regain their pallor lost to the stinging wind.
I close my eyes and listen to the trees as they waltz with zephyr. There are several species of birds that flit above my head. At certain times it’s flickers, sometimes crows, others still, the hummingbirds find their perches in the heavenward boughs. I think my favourite are the hummingbirds flying over my head because the rhythms of their wings will drive every other thought from my mind, leaving nothing but the all encompassing thrum of their swift movements.
The bench itself is perched on the edge of the creek, so the echoes of the babbling current fill the atmosphere. The multitude of sounds stirs my soul in a way that few other things do, and instils within me a sense of peace that drowns out my worries.
Most often when I visit, I will bring a book to read or listen to some music while I crochet my latest project. Although, sometimes, I will go and just sit in the silence, allowing the world to pass me by for just a brief moment.
I'm so fortunate and grateful to have found such solitude in this place, and it has truly been my saving grace these last few weeks. So, too, am I sure that I will need its strength with the months to come, for I know with little doubt that my world is not going to get any slower. It does me no good to sprint without rest, and I will need my oasis to catch my breath.
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