By Zack Miklos
As the leaves change colors, sprinkling Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus with bright reds, oranges and yellows, I cannot help but admire the beauty that autumn brings to the university. My walk to class is typically halted by a diligent pack of maintenance workers trying to keep up with the piles of leaves that continuously fill the roads and walkways. There is a satisfying sense of warmth and energy that fills the air, which inspires me to take more scenic routes as I travel across campus. Initially, I thought Rose Hill could not possibly look any more striking, but I was happily mistaken. It can.
One day, I felt an urge to take my DSLR camera and capture the stillness of daybreak. I got out of bed that morning with no real plan of which kind of photos I would take or where I would go. I decided I would start by taking a shot of Keating Hall. I zipped up my wool jacket and began walking to Edward’s Parade. It was very early and faint rings of light were just beginning to become visible on the horizon. I sat on one of the benches along Eddie’s and waited for the perfect shot.
In a matter of minutes, the campus was engulfed in a blanket of pink. The clouds were light and fragile. As time gracefully passed by, purples and blues started making their way into the sky. Other than a light breeze that gingerly blew through my hair, the campus was still. There were no maintenance workers, no leaf-blowers, no interruptions. The only sound I could hear was the chirp of a few birds in the distance. Keating looked majestic. I walked to the center of Eddie’s, took a few shots and proceeded to find a more interesting angle.
As I moved slowly through the cold dew-covered grass, I was confronted with a very different feeling than the energetic, hustle-and-bustle of daytime. It was not a warming feeling, either, but something entirely different. I felt at peace. This was Rose Hill’s most beautiful moment.
There is something special about stillness and daybreak at Fordham highlighted this for me. With no movement, no loud noises and, most of all, no social pressure, all worry and other distractions escaped my mind. It was just me and Rose Hill. I could not help but think about how much control I allowed other people to have on how I perceived the world. Fordham looked very different not only because the sunrise illuminated the campus in a beautiful way, but also because of the absence of other people.
I highly recommend experiencing this first hand. Fordham looks, feels and sounds very different at this time of day. Sunrise puts the university against a unique, breathtaking backdrop and with no distractions or interruptions you can appreciate it more. It has caused me to fall in love with the university once more and has made me thankful that life brought me here. I hope that one day you, too, can experience this same feeling.
