Harvard Yard

College campuses are home to some of the most beautiful parts of nature in the world; at least I think so. I recently had the incredible opportunity to visit Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I had seen beautiful campuses before – Texas Christian University is by far one of the best with the seasonal flower changes, trees on every corner of every turn, grass that is only not green in December, and not to mention the indoor plants that sit in nearly every classroom.

But, there was something about Harvard Yard that made you feel like you had never seen anything like it before. It is 22 acres of pure greenery – everything from grass that is as green as a professional golf course, to flowers planted on every inch of the sidewalks, to the huge oak trees that sit right up next to the academic buildings. The acres of grass make the campus feel more like a park than a college campus.

 I sat on a bench in the middle of the grass and thought about how I felt – not realizing how many emotions I was experiencing while just sitting on that bench looking around. I felt joy when looking at the tiny little flowers swaying back and forth with the wind – it made me smile when one flower got tangled up with another (it was like they were friends holding hands together). I felt sad when I saw someone toss their empty paper coffee cup onto a patch of grass – I walked over, picked it up and threw it in the recycle bin that was a mere 15 steps away. The grass is as just as alive as we are. I felt excited when it started to rain because you could almost see with your own eyes how the trees perked up that they were finally getting some love.

Having the opportunity to walk around and see how much of the campus is filled with nature made me so happy. I love knowing that as much care given to the students of Harvard is also given to the greenery surrounding them. I am incredibly grateful to go to a school that also cares just as much about the natural world as the artificial one. I hope I get to travel to many more college campuses soon and see the nature that surrounds them. I am a firm believer that students, faculty and staff are happier and healthier individuals if they are able to sit outside alongside nature and do their work. I am not nearly as appreciative as I should be to attend TCU and live on one of the most beautiful campuses in the world.