As graduation looms, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’ve been shaped by my physical environment over the last three years. All of it. The quality of light here where I’ve lived, the brick and stone, and the leaves which have filtered the rising and setting sun; all of it has trained my eyes to see…something new, something beautiful right here.

Right outside my apartment, on numerous walks, the golden light traced a familiar path…

The space where we often gathered still held the prayers we said and the songs we sang…

The verdant greens and burnt oranges and bright yellows, all of it a testament to the deep freshness of Life…

The windows that let the light through and the shadows that disperse because of them…

And the weight of stillness in the chapel, waiting for me like a promise every day.

I am so very grateful for it all. All of it.

-Eyes wide open, Chinwe