Kyra: Sunken Gardens

I love large fields of grass, maybe partly because when I was younger I spent a lot of time in my apartment complex backyard. It’s just grass, but there’s so much you can do there!
There’s so much that happens on the Sunken Gardens and so much of my college experience happened here, or at least, my favorite memories. There are some very cliché college things that happened, like freshman year I was sitting here and some friends came and were playing Frisbee and one guy started playing the guitar and it was all very cliché, but awesome! I spend the most time here, and I’d say I do more studying here than in the library. I sit out here to talk to friends, to call home, to just sit and take a nap. I walk across the Gardens practically every day. I’ve always had classes around the Sunken Gardens. This year I walk from Tyler to McGlothlin and then back to Tyler because I have three classes back-to-back. And it’s great. I walk across and it’s early morning and the sky is blue and there aren’t so many people around. It’s almost meditative to walk across and just look at the sky and the trees and the grass.
Other powerful moments happen here as well. Like after the election, the rally/vigil was here. The big events like Convocation are here, and picnics, and so many fun events. And…Oh! And the most important—well not the most important, but one of the most important events—streaking on the Sunken Gardens is one of my favorite activities here. I’ve streaked the Sunken Gardens at least ten times. I’m always doing it with people. So it’s a bonding experience with those other people, and with the Gardens. You walk past here and think “Oh, I was naked there…and over there…and someone saw me naked there!” There’s the person you plan to streak with, and the people that accidentally see you, and there’s the people who plan to streak at the same time even though you didn’t know it, and then you’re streaking together, and it’s great! It’s so fun to do that.
When you come out here at night, and there’s not that many people around, it’s really beautiful and peaceful. Also in the snow, and when people start building snowmen.
There are no negative feelings associated with this place. I just love it here.