Actually, I don’t go out walking after midnight because I mean, I’m sleeping after midnight and that isn’t really safe. It was just the first song that popped into my mind about walking. I’m also in Nashville so Patsy Cline isn’t really a stretch of the imagination.

I’ve been walking and I’ve quite enjoyed it. Follow me on Instagram (@clarkkn) to see the pics I’ve taken on my adventures #kcwalksvu.

Things I’ve Come to Know

1. The campus is freaking gorgeous! I’m obsessed with all the trees. I think that trees are magical. We have a lot of trees, like BOSS trees.
2. Having a student make eye contact, smile and say hello is rare. We’re in the South BUT perhaps I’m not encountering our Southern students on my walks or they are just so bogged down in life that they can’t even be bothered to look up and acknowledge their surroundings. Hmm…
3. On that note, there is nothing like walking around a college campus as an administrator and seeing a student light up when they see you walking around campus. “KRYSTAL, [insert hug] so good to see you, what are you doing over here? How are you? We miss you.”
4. College is stressful for college students. I forgot the haze one enters into right before a test. I stopped into a classroom building prior to a test for a potty break and you could feel the tension as the students lined the walls taking once last glance at their scribbled notes.
5. My favorite thing in college to this day was being a campus Tour Guide. I smile whenever I see a tour on campus. I absolutely loved the experience and can still walk backwards with the best of them :).
6. There are a MILLION things happening on campus every day of the week. I’m not even exaggerating. I’ve started putting some things on my calendar because one perk of working at a university, especially a well resourced university, is that there are some pretty incredible programming opportunities for students that staff can take advantage of as well. Also, I can still pass for a student SO I just wander into things and no one seems to mind.
7. Listening to first-year students’ conversations while walking is absolutely painful. Since I’m working to blend into the campus community, I have to fight all urges to a. laugh b. physically harm them with a smack upside the head or a good shake c. throw massive amounts of shade d. lock them in their room until graduation e. stand on a tree stump and scream at them through a microphone or f. call a parent/guardian –I’d also like to start a campaign called “Cover Your Cookie” AKA can you please make sure that the length/tightness of your dress/shorts/leggings does not serve as a way for us to confirm your biological sex? We don’t need to see ALL of that when we’re taking a leisurely stroll across campus.
8. We have a cool Farmers’ Market on Thursdays with delicious hummus. Ahem! Hummus is delicious?! MIND. BLOWN.
9. Students are having civil discourse on campus about important issues. Whoo Hoo!
10. Taking someone on a tour of the place in which you work is a great refresher of how good you have it. A beautiful building, a lovely office, fun people to chat with about my personal and professional life. Randwiches, the ladies that make the Randwiches, Brookies (Brownie Cookies), a ticketmaster downstairs, and a patio right outside my office.

In all, I’m still not sure if this is THE PLACE for me but I’m finding more and more things to like about it. Baby steps! I’ve decided to keep walking because it does give me a wonderful opportunity to exhale and I am learning a great deal about the campus culture. Maybe, I’ll find my place after all. Sigh!

Later Y’all!