Eye of the Beholder

  What do you see when you look around you? There are people wandering from one class to the next, there are buildings—each associated with classes you've had, there are many things that make Muskingum University separate from other places in the world.

  However, there are also a variety of common-held sights. There are the ducks, just like any other ducks. There are squirrels running through the trees. There are leaves lying on the ground and flowers in full bloom. These characteristics of Muskingum aren't unique in any sense; they are elements of nature that can be found frequently throughout the world. Yet they are important in amplifying the beauty of the campus.

  When I look around, I think of a well-known phrase: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is an important life lesson that I have become well acquainted with. Beauty isn't defined by magazines or make-up companies, rather, it's something that we choose. Every day we are faced with the challenge of seeing the beauty around us. It's not hard to find, but we often don't take the time to look.

  There are dedicated professors before us each day, striving to challenge our minds and help us learn. There are employees who work to feed us, to counsel us, to help us succeed. There are fellow students, each somehow related to our own experience. This in itself is beautiful.

  There are blue-sky days and star-filled nights, and there are those in the opposite. There are animals scurrying around us, nature running its course. There are trees reaching for the sun, and grass hoping to cushion our feet. This is beautiful.

  There are things to do and places to be, clubs to join and people to see. There are social gatherings and opportunities to seize. There are chances to speak, and chances to listen. There are plans and dreams, a will to succeed. This, too, is beautiful.

  Everything has some level of beauty to it. Ultimately it depends on what you seek out. We each have things near and dear to us that we believe to be beautiful. What is most important is challenging ourselves to find beauty in the other stuff. The path we walk every day to and from class, the people we encounter without really seeing, those who make a difference in our lives yet go unappreciated.

  As human beings, we have trouble finding time to smell the roses. The same concept applies in recognizing the beauty in our lives. We have a lot that we can be thankful for, if we choose to see just how grand every day can be. This requires us to demand more conscious appreciation of even the simplest things in a day. 

  So why not look a little closer when you're trudging up sets of stairs and sauntering on the quad? Challenge yourself to find some beauty in the everyday encounters. Maybe, just maybe, you'll come to a greater appreciation for the little things in life. And after all, aren't those the things that matter most?