A Sylvan Reminiscence

Whenever I think of UC Irvine, the first thing that pops in my mind is the trees. It may seem like a mundane or unimportant aspect of our campus, but whenever I think of UCI I think of how we are cloistered from the rest of orange county surrounded by an oasis of trees and grass. From the moment I stepped onto the campus my 7th grade year to take the PSAT I was amazed at the sense of tranquility I sensed at the campus.  Eventually when I was offered admission I came back, and tread upon the similar path of the campus tour followed by thousands of students, and reaffirmed my always help opinion that UCI was my oasis of higher learning in the urban desert.

I knew within my heart that I could not go to a school that was not filled with trees. Once enrolled, I constantly roamed the campus sitting under the shade of the trees or laying down in the grass getting my vitamin D before retiring back to the library or my chosen study area for the day.  These walks in some ways tied me irrevocably as an anteater and made me grow a deep seated love for the school campus.  Entering Aldrich Park was like entering into a refuge where I could feel the buzz of city life get turned off.  Or just walking along ring mall to and fro class was a sort of therapy. I always make it a point after class, if I’m not rushing off to another class or work; to take my time and walk along close to the Jacarandas trees when in bloom or along the middle the path under the shade of trees planted on Ring Mall long before my arrival at UCI.  I believe the trees if they had the capacity for memory they too would look back and snicker at my escapades under their leaves such as my 2nd day on campus and walking for almost an hour lost trying to find Crawford Hall and ending up at the Beckman Center almost in tears or sneaking out from my apartment at Campus Village at night only to run back after walking along the row of statues behind the Science Library and being scared by a possum, or the unbelievable day I heard a sound on ring mall coming from the direction of the science library and found a man locked inside! They also would sadly remember harder times of late night walks as I pondered my purpose in life and contemplating dark thoughts or having tears streaming down my face as I felt my heart fracture.  There are days that I do take them for granted and don’t take a moment to breathe in the oxygenated air but overall I always eventually feel my eyes shift upwards to gaze upon the leaves and branches, even the dead of winter. For I know just like the leaves, I’ll always come back.

Silvia Lemus
Anthropology
School of Social Sciences & Biology Minor

 

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