Window Trees

As I woke up for another day at SSP, I pondered about the endless possibilities of what I can do with my unscheduled day. One possible option was to lay in bed all day and only get up to eat. Another option was to be as productive as I can to get a head start on the busy week. Due to my conscience, I chose option number two.

The world looks different when you aren’t half asleep. The small minuscule details of your room start to become clear. The empty water bottles stacking up on my desk can no longer be ignored. That pile of clothes under your bed can’t stay there forever.

So, I got out of bed with some enthusiasm and brushed my teeth while planning my day. Do boring laundry, listen to remarkable music, refill my snack station, and work on problem sets.

My first task of the day was to do my laundry in a reasonable amount of time instead of stressing over putting that nice dress shirt in the wrong washer. As I was dragging my dirty clothes into the washer, I called my parents to update them on the SSP experience. We talked about my ups and downs here, laughed about the quiet living room without me, and the lack of talking back from me. Following sharing jokes, we both got sentimental about missing each other and said our goodbyes for the day.

After eating those six peanut butter crackers for breakfast, I cleaned out the lint trap and quickly put my clothes in the dryer to head out for Target. The target run was a complete success as I got more breakfast peanut butter crackers and essentials for the week. Moreover, we went to Von’s bookstore where I felt completely lost. I browsed the piles and piles of books only to come out of the bookstore empty-handed.

Once walking back to the dorms in the Indiana sun, I rushed to take my clothes out of the dryer and went to Wiley’s for lunch. Succeeding my satisfactory lunch, I headed to the computer lab to do some problem sets and prepare for the upcoming week.

While blankly staring at the computer screen, I drifted to the window with a clear view of a shining light green tree. Usually, trees give shade and protection from the sun by their long, hugging branches, but for this one day, the tree shined light into the small quiet computer lab. Surrounded by the binary 0s and 1s, nothing can produce the beauty of light green leaves in the slight breeze of Lafayette.

About:

Hi, my name is Juan Santiago and I’m from Los Angeles. I love watching basketball, listening to music, and playing the trombone. At SSP, I am usually working on my chemostat, problem sets, or enjoying off time with friends.