To my fellow classmates at Quinnipiac University: As a new semester begins, I want to bring to your attention the wonders of Clark’s Pond. It’s that body of water located on New Road that everyone either ignores or uses as a make-out or drinking haven, away from the chaos of their dorms. I want to stress that it is much more than this. Take time out of your busy schedules to go alone and experience its permanence.
I discovered Clark’s Pond during my freshman year and have embraced it ever since. At the time, it served as an escape from my roommates, with whom I was incompatible, to put it lightly. At that point, it was simply a pond, but over the years, I personified it. During my sophomore year, the pond listened to me as I read literature aloud, particularly “Dante’s Inferno”; it was empowering. And finally, during my junior year, the pond listened to my thoughts as I stood before it, feeling emotionally drained at the university. It was the only “body” that gave me the response I wanted to hear: silence. Before the pond, I was left only with my thoughts.
The pond is a wonder because it is unbiased to all who open up to it. It does not show apathy, cynicism or even love – it allows you to independently make decisions without a clear “do this” or “do that.” If you go to Clark’s Pond, make sure you do it alone because that is the only way the experience will be effective. In the past, I made the mistake of bringing others with me and I found that in their presence, the pond did not feel it had a reason to listen.
Above all, rejoice in the permanence of Clark’s Pond because it is one of the few things in life that has permanence. Clark’s Pond clarifies, nature clarifies.
Please appreciate the natural beauty of this campus because it gives us as students a “constant” in life. From my limited experience, people, emotions, ambitions are fleeting. Everyone wishes they could stop time. Frankly for some, stopping time is possible – through immaturity, friendship and love. But the person who thinks time has stopped is blinded and no matter how hard that person resists it, time always conquers. Do not be one of these people.
