Tag: outdoors

“Ode to North Central” by Kate Dawson

Walking out of my dorm

 

I meet students sitting on the grass 

gossiping, studying, relaxing,

taking a break from life.

 

They stake into the ground a volleyball net 

and soak in the rays beaming down 

from the sun. 

 

Classes take their leave for the weekend, 

while university buildings continue to shelter students 

whose work remains a weight on their shoulder. 

 

Breaking the silence comes the announcement of noon, 

courtesy of bells that send their sounds rushing

out of Memorial Hall.

 

Scampering squirrels interject the path of travelers

prancing down the bricks, where townspeople separate

young adults clumped together. 

 

Horns honk, 

reverberating off the pavement. 

 

Walk sign is onfades into the distance.

 

 Students sputter over the crosswalk, 

racing the cars speeding towards them. 

 

Main Street commotion fills the ears of those

who journey up the stairs, 

greeted by a mini town packed into one strip of asphalt. 

 

Air whips across faces 

riddled with blushing cheeks. 

 

Hands grip coffee drinks, 

each with a unique store logo brandishing the front. 

 

Time carries on 

as errands are run 

and assignments are completed. 

 

Or 

leisure takes focus

as procrastination temporarily hides to-do lists. 

 

Picturesque, 

the scene so full of life waits 

to be captured in a still picture 

from the lens of a phone

that can’t express the true atmosphere and movement. 

 

Air turns cool, 

sky turns dark, 

and day turns night.

 

Grass regains its place 

upright 

after being indented by daytime visitors. 

 

Today’s pushed off worries 

become tomorrow’s goals. 

 

Falling into bed at night, 

basketball chains rattle outside. 

 

The sound permeates my window. 

 

North Central sleeps, 

waiting to breathe life 

into the Green

again tomorrow. 

 

This is a poem about “the liveliness of North Central that comes to life especially with good weather,” composed by  Kate Dawson, a Class of 2024 Elementary Education major in the Honors College. In celebration of National Poetry Month, “186 South College” will be posting the work of Honors students weekly throughout the month of April and May as bonus content. If you or someone you know would like to share their work as a guest writer like Kate, we are still accepting submissions at this link: https://bit.ly/186Poets22

“Nico’s Adventure” by Jenny Gloyd

I have collected countless stories throughout my three years at the University of Delaware, but I know that some of the best will be from the time my roommates and I lived with our adorable dog, Nico. Nico, a lanky old English Pointer, has a snaggle tooth and mismatched ears. A disciplined former hunting dog, he spends most of his time sitting by our sides, looking very distinguished. He is very smart, and always holds an expression that convinces you that he knows what’s going on. Whether he is giving us an excuse to step out of the house a few times a day for a walk, or making an odd sound here and there to break a long silence–we like to call him our resident foley artist–he has brought great value to our lives. Continue reading

“Thinking Outside the Box” by Jenny Gloyd

I have been told probably a million times to “think outside of the box.” The old idiom has merit in encouraging creativity, allowing your mind to wander outside set limits, and return with something truly wonderful. It has brought us great inventors such as Thomas Edison and innovative thinkers such as Erwin Shrödinger. I encourage everyone to work on developing this level of ingenuity, but I want to see if we can redefine the meaning of this old saying for our lives at the current. Can we instead think outside of the four corners of our laptop screens?  Continue reading

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