It's finally rained here.

I didn't realize how much I was hoping for it to rain until it actually did. During the past four weeks I have experienced a total of one rainy day. In retrospect, that seems so absurd... but everyone just took it for granted. Sometimes it was really hot (like yesterday, when my room hit a smoking 88 degrees!) and other days it was pleasantly cool. Yet throughout, the sun was (literally) always shining and the nights were always beautiful.

It's felt so surreal. Each day as I wander around campus, whether here or at Notre Dame, I marvel at the beauty of this place. There's something magical about the mist that hangs in the air over South Quad late at night, or the glow of the dome off in the distance. There's an unexplainable grace within the rays of evening sunshine that pour through the trees. Each day I find myself admiring every gentle breath of wind, every acorn that falls onto the sidewalk, and the consistent bustle of people walking the criss-crossed paths towards their classes. I love the tower, lit up majestically every night, and I love watching the geese gather in groups in the fields and leave for the fall. I'll really miss them. I love the ancient trees that have lined this path for thousands of students over the past 160 years. I love exploring between classes or on the weekends, and just soaking in the history and the tradition of this place.

I sound like an infomercial.

But seriously, it's felt like heaven here. It's always beautiful. But the rain makes it finally feel like this place is... real. I've been getting so sick of sprinklers!