It took me awhile to find a spot I felt like truly fit, and was accessible. I spent time in a lot of different places, but ultimately chose this one, because it genuinely seemed to be the most mysterious, and the one I knew the least about. I spend a lot of time in places such as the trail behind the barn to Carvin’s Cove, as well as frequent walks to the graveyard and other areas of campus. I wanted it to be a place I hadn’t really explored much on campus in the over three years I’ve been at Hollins. This spot is located behind Tinker and the tennis courts, and sort of, below and to the right of the new apartments. There is a small clearing in a patch of trees that made a good location for sitting, and was also naturally shaded. It seemed like it would be a small escape place, and being there almost feels hidden from the other parts of campus, which is what I wanted.

There are a lot of high traffic places on campus, especially now that sports are kicking off, even places like the graveyard, haven’t been free of runners or of distractions. It was eerie how quiet and isolated it felt from everything else, and the feeling of escape was abundant as soon as I found the spot. It’s surrounded by trees of different varieties, as well as plants, and many, many, bugs. Even during my search for a sit spot, there was a large amount of activity within being there for a few minutes. There seemed like a lot of possibilities to learn more, and peaked my interest, which is the main reason I chose this specific spot.

To set the stage, I’m always busy, with something. I can’t just be still anywhere, I don’t frequently go places alone, when I go on walks they’re always with friends nearby, and leisurely time alone occasionally feels, well- selfish. Like, there’s more I could be doing. I was apprehensive about the sit spot time, as the prospect of not engaging with my phone, work, or other people, seemed daunting and impossible. As I found a spot in my tree clearing that was comfortable, my mind, was racing. It’s always been part to-do list, part to-done list, and 2 parts planner. Honestly, at the beginning, I hated it. I felt like it wasn’t productive, and I felt guilty spending my time that way. But, as 30 minutes passed of adjusting to the quiet, I began to realize how much I needed it. I wasn’t thinking about anything else, other than being present in the moment I was. I felt like I was genuinely enjoying the surroundings

It wasn’t just peaceful, but it felt nostalgic. The sound of crickets were everywhere, as the more still I became, the more things I heard. The crickets reminded me a lot of my farm back home, which always has minimal traffic and is always peaceful. It was two worlds colliding, and it was something I began to savor. It was interesting to find the trees so intellectually simulating, especially with the large amount of birds I could hear from where I was. There were a great variety of calls, even if I couldn’t see them, I could tell they weren’t the same type. They were so loud, I wondered why it had taken me so long to notice them. It was a moment of reflection, there were so many things I miss everyday because of the white noise and busying of everything on the ground. As soon as I heard one call, I listened diligently for the rest. After leaving later on, I could hear the calls even when I was walking around campus. My  bird observations were peaking my curiosity, as were a few small, wilting purple flowers, which as soon as I noticed, which wasn’t until a while after I was making observations, I began to draw. I haven’t drawn in a long time, but it felt like something that I wanted to remember. It was also overcast, but the sun peaked through a distant, heavy cloud, which its early evening light made everything a hue of gold.

 I found myself quickly enticed by the things around me, even if they were small. I was finding quiet joy in moments like, when a cricket hung out on my shoe for at least 20 minutes. I didn’t notice it at first, but as I was shifting my weight to a different position, I noticed it. He (or she, no assumptions) was sitting fearless on the toe of my shoe, and he was about half of the size of my pinky finger. I was careful not to disturb him on his perch, as we both continued our sit spot observations. I also got to see many tiny caterpillars moving towards the trees at a quick pace, to whatever next caterpillar adventure the world had in store for them. There was one that crawled onto my hand, and wasn’t any bigger than a penny in terms of length. The caterpillars were all dark brown with fuzzy appearing bodies. I also saw a lot of ants, as well as a tiny spider darting quickly up a nearby tree.

Reflecting back on my first sit spot experience, it was something I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did. I was more productive afterwards even, as taking that time to sit and observe nature produced a calming break I didn’t know I needed. I look forward to going back, and might occasionally try to make time to do homework there, or go more often. I’m interested to learn more about the things I have noticed, especially the different paces of changing leaves on the trees, and keeping track of them, but I’m also interested to learn more about the things I haven’t noticed. It was an unexpected moment of happiness in my day that I’m excited to continue throughout the semester!