I was lucky enough this month to return to a place that is always near and dear to my heart: my college town, Gainesville. I've visited two times since graduation, but those were for my sister and brother's own graduations, and there really wasn't very much time to meander around. This was my first opportunity then, to slowly wander around the campus on a nostalgic trip.
It's difficult to believe that it's been 20 (?!!!?) years since I've roamed this campus as a freshman. So much has changed, yet so much has remained the same. As I looked around at the bright eyed youth around me, I felt myself hoping that they will treasure this time in their lives. It just goes by so quickly!
One of my favorite haunts, the Reitz Union game room, was sadly closed for repairs, but I did manage to grab some shots of very familiar places. Walking into the nearly-empty football stadium was amazing and astounding, and I could only lament that football season hasn't begun yet.
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| My freshman dorm, East Hall |
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View of the stadium. The building on the left is new (to me), and houses
all of our prestigious trophies. |
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Three Heisman trophies, three amazing football players. From left:
Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel, Tim Tebow. |
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| And three National Championship trophies on display! |
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Close-up of one of the national championship
trophies (sorry for the inevitable glare). |
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I've never seen the stadium empty! But to my delight, it was open for
visitors. There were a few people milling around, as well as a few
groups of kids there for Preview, but it still felt crazy empty. |
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BLUE! ORANGE! BLUE! ORANGE! As a student, we were always
relegated to the sunnier (hotter) orange side of the stadium. |
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| Proud Gator on duty |
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| Century Tower, in the heart of campus. |
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| The strange potato is still standing, in front of Turlington. |
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French fries!! I'm glad the campus hasn't taken this
old structure down. |
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| One of the business buildings I had lots of classes in. |
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No matter how far I roam, no matter how many countries I travel to,
this mantra always holds true. :) |
