Starting Anew

I have to admit that last semester, my last as an undergrad, was considerably harder than I anticipated it would be, both academically and emotionally. That being said, I think I will recollect these past several months fondly as we often do after time softens the pain and weaves the dark into a more beautiful tapestry of life. Even now, while some pain is still fresh, it is mingled with joy and wonderful memories. I really can only be grateful for all of it. As C.S. Lewis wrote,

"...the Blessed will say, 'We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven'... What seemed, when they entered it, to be the vale of misery turns out, when they look back, to have been a well; and where present experience saw only salt deserts, memory truthfully records that the pools were full of water." (The Great Divorce)

While life is still going to be hard, I am excited to be starting a new chapter at grad school. The place I'm living at, the people who I'll spend time with, and the campus have already started to find a place in my heart, so I guess there is no limit to the size of our hearts. I have only to see how the graduate work and teaching will be...

But now for some pictures:

(My bed, my faithful companion Shilo, and a wall of pictures.)

(The beginnings of campus just down the road from my new home.)

(The Liberal Arts building, home to the English department and my graduate program.)

(The quad just outside the LA building, across from the administration and student union buildings. Also, on top of that hill stands a replica of the ruins of the Philippeion in Olympia, Greece.)