Garden of Peace

In the middle of the hustle and bustle of everyday life, between all of the papers, studying, clubs, working, and other duties, it is sometimes important to take time to relax.  Sadly, with all of the excitement going on all over campus and downtown at all hours of the day, it can be hard to find a place that is truly peaceful.  However, if you look hard enough there are a couple of places that are truly serene.  In my personal experience, the most serene place on campus is the Alumni Garden.

The Alumni Garden is the little area of grass and trees beside the Alumni Center in the west part of campus.  The main feature of the garden is the duck pond full of little Koi fish, and turtles.  The pond is also often visited by ducks, hence its name.  The dock pond flows into a small waterfall that continues to flow under a bridge, and into a second smaller pond.  There is also a gazebo on the one edge of the garden, as well as benches spotted around the plot.

The thing that makes the Alumni Garden so serene is that its feeling of isolation.  The garden is not that far away from the main paths people take through campus, but it is just far away enough that people aren't constantly walking up and down the paths.  Even when people are passing through this area, they usually just walk right by it, to get on their way to the next thing they have to do.  This allows for the Alumni Garden to still stay relatively secluded.  This seclusion of the garden, makes it like an oasis on campus, in the middle of the concrete dessert, I mean "desert" (I wish it was dessert).

Not only is the Alumni Garden an oasis because of its seclusion, but also because of its environment.  The garden is a little piece of nature, in the middle of a bunch of buildings.  I know that the Hub lawn and Old Main lawn are both larger areas of grass, but they don't support life.  The Alumni Garden has its own little ecosystem.  The animals here all live together in a "circle of life," just like in The Lion King.  However, "The Circle of Life" isn't the only song from The Lion King that describes the garden, "Hakuna Matata" is also perpetuated by the area.  "Hakuna Matata," which according to The Lion King means "No Worries," is the definition of the serenity of the Alumni Garden.  It is a place where you can come to relax, and don't have to worry about your problems, but can just see, hear, smell, and feel nature (and taste too, although I wouldn't recommend it).

The Alumni Garden may be a fairly small area on campus, but it is can have a large place in our hearts.  Thanks to the garden's isolation, and environment, it becomes its own little world separate from the excitement of Penn State.  So, next time you are looking for a peaceful place to study on campus, consider visiting the Alumni Garden, to bask in the beauty of nature.