A Train of Thought

Walking around campus always feels very refreshing and peaceful, especially on the weekends. Yesterday, I went on campus to motivate myself to study and prepare for my exams this week, and for a while I was just glued to my seat, eyes not straying away from the chemical reaction mechanisms and formulae spread across my e-book and jotting down my notes. I guess I got up to go print something, and as I walked downstairs, and the bright yellow and red hues of the leaves dancing in the breeze took me by surprise. Obviously, I knew it was the fall season, but those bright, yet gentle fall colors never fail to catch me by surprise. This year though, fall is rolling round in Chicago in the weirdest ways this year. The fall colors are only arriving now, late to hosting their party before the onset of the long and arduous winters and staying longer than they should. Though the fall chill is in the air, it is being complemented by warmth of the sun and its hay breeze rather frequently.

It made me want to take a walk around for a while, keeping aside everything I had to do. Being a commuter school, we know how UIC becomes pretty quiet on the weekends with no students bustling about to classes and going home for the day. The sky was a perfect azure, with sprinklings of puffs of clouds through which the sun's rays kissed the soft green grass on the quad. I simply took a stroll around campus for 40 minutes, doing nothing- not listening to music, nor thinking about what I had to do after I get home and what to do for the upcoming week. It was just 40 minutes of looking at the cute sparrows picking at the bushes, the squirrels scurrying about and climbing the trees that had something that caught their eye, the leaves in yellow, red, orange and green against the blue sky. There were a few people picnicking in the lawns, lounging on the big red chairs, while others were out on a light jog, and yet some others sat under the trees, eyes closed and earbuds in.

It made me think about how much we have gotten used to our fast-paced lives- we are always getting ready for something, thinking constantly about our daily chores and duties for the day, and repeat week after week, month after month. Though all of this is absolutely essential to keep our lives in motion, perhaps it is ok to find motion in the quiet moments too. It's always nice to take a break from running and take some time to walk too sometimes. There are weeks when it also feels like you have no time for your hobbies, and you might feel drained out on other days, and it's interesting how even a few minutes of letting your not go onto the different trains of thoughts that run all day can be the reset switch we need. The simple joys like catching the sunset at the perfect time when splashes of color wrap around the sky, or looking up after a long day and being pleasantly surprised by the blue hue of the sky, even though the sky has been blue for as long as we know, are just what we need to keep us going. This walk reminded me taking some time to slow down and look at the sky like it's the first and last time you will see it is ok- it really is very rejuvenating.