my favorite time of day

Back in Georgia, my favorite time of the day was when I came back home from school around 3:45 pm and sat in my bedroom. The sunlight would hit directly into my room, enveloping it in this aura of bright yellowness and warmth. I would lie down on my bed and just soak up the awesomeness, feeling serene and happy and right. I would often get sleepy and take a quick (ie. 2-hour) nap in this essence. Of course, when I woke up, it would be two hours later and about sunset, which would make me slightly bummed out that I hadn't stayed awake for the whole time period. But still.

During my hectic summer, my move to Jersey, and my first months in college, I had forgotten what it was like to have that ambience of coziness and sunshine, especially since it's been getting colder and colder everyday. But I found it in an unexpected place today. 

I usually hate studying in Van Pelt (VP) Library. (For those that don't go to Penn, you'll recognize it as the Button Library.) I hate it because it feels so confining and way too out in the open, surrounded by people you don't know. But today, instead of going to the Underground (undergraduate study area), I chose to sit by the huge windows near the entrance in a nice little armchair. And around 3:10 pm, the sunlight shone from behind College Hall, exuding an overwhelming yellow warmth. And despite my semi-stressful writing seminar paper, I suddenly felt incredibly happy. I love college. I love being here, being with these people, learning these subjects, growing this persona that I am.

Sweet music, a quarter of a blueberry bagel, my cute little MacBook, and sociological studies of Asian-American adolescents and their parents. What more could I ask for?