Ramsey Cooper is a first-year student at Loyola Law School dedicated to centering community and humanity through her legal studies and career.
Last week, I was sitting outside and eating an apple with peanut butter. I had packed the peanut butter separately to slather onto the apple. Shortly after I opened the container of goodness, I felt a fuzzy thing brush my leg. I jumped and a squirrel ran out from beneath the table. I didn’t realize that it only came to me because of the smell of the peanut butter, but I left the table and the squirrel jumped up, knocked my container off of the table, and started eating my peanut butter with its paws inside the container. I was shocked. I had never heard of anything like this happening before.
I love that sitting outside at Loyola in all seasons is such a common thing to do. Being from Virginia, 80 degree days in January are unheard of. Sitting outside in January and soaking in the sun between classes and lunch has been an experience that I will forever be grateful for. Going hunting for outlets near tables to avoid having to go into the library to charge my laptop has been a welcome break from the stress of summer job hunting, final writing assignment revisions, and midterm preparations. Despite the overly friendly creatures that join me, being outside has been wonderful through the stresses of the beginning of 1L second semester.
Along with the weather, the architecture is another thing I love about Loyola. The bright yellow and electric blue accents make the campus feel alive and are aesthetically pleasing. Recently, the Art Law Society painted a wonderful, flowery mural near the campus cafe entrance. The architecture and the student creativity are just a small part of what makes being a student at Loyola great, along with the surprise encounters with nature.