A Much-Needed Lightning Storm

So this term has been challenging.

It’s the first trimester I’ve spent taking multiple 200-level courses (French and Physics), and, in particular, my physics course (Atomic and Nuclear) has definitely lived up to its notoriously difficult reputation. The material is amazing (it’s “basically baby quantum mechanics,” per my awesome professor Marty Baylor), and makes me think about some really challenging, beautiful things…but, yeah, it is….challenging. It’s taken a lot of time and energy to keep up with on its own (and I still have two other classes!), and last night I almost let the stress get to me.

But then the lightning swooped in.

I was sitting at my desk, feeling pretty darn overwhelmed, when multiple flashes of light carried from the night sky through my second Burton dorm‘s open window, catching my attention. Now, I’ve seen lightning before, but mainly only at Carleton, and only in short bursts (no pun intended, if that even counts as a pun). It’s a new weather phenomenon for me, a native Californian, just like (real) wind and snow. And I love new things! So I stood up to take a stretching break, a deep breath, and a peak out of the window. I noticed that the flashes kept coming. After a few minutes, I realized something special was going on, and headed outside.

There, a handful of people were standing in front of the entrance to Burton, their heads pointed skyward. We were all standing silently together, just watching the sky do its trick. It was mesmerizing.

Part of the reason I came all the way out to Carleton was to experience new natural beauties like these. Natural photographer that I am, I soon pulled my phone out of my pocket in order to capture (and now share!) it. The picture above is actually a still from a video I took, before I realized I could just take some long bursts and select the best images from those (which is how I got the next couple of shots). After a few minutes of this, I registered a shift in my mind. I felt totally okay again. Not in control, exactly, but more okay with not being in control (of the wave/particle/what-nature of light, of the lightning storm in progress, of you name it). The choice to come to a school with such bountiful natural beauty was paying off before my eyes, and I felt proud for allowing the weather to remind me to take just a few minutes of a break, and admire the world I live in.

So I guess my message to everyone this week is to remember the power of nature. For me, it’s one of the most calming, centering, perspective-giving things I can turn to. Last night I was too deep in my near-panic and confusion to remember the options I had right in front of me, until they literally began to illuminate my room. It only took a few moments outside to let my awe at the electrified sky wash over me, and remind me of the bigger picture of things. In fact, the lighting itself reminded me of how cool nature and electricity could be, which served as fantastic motivation to return to my physics reading after things calmed down a bit.

Last night, I found myself standing outside in the middle of a gorgeous campus, at a fantastic school full of incredible people, simply enjoying the majesty of the world around me. I went from overflowing with academic stress to comfortably filled with a sense of profound peace in a matter of minutes. I was surrounded by light, by echoes, by the strangely warm air of an autumnal Minnesota night, and I felt really, really okay.

My advice to anyone who ever occasionally feels overpowered by the laundry list of things they have to do, or deal with, or make themselves understand in life (which I imagine is pretty much everybody) is to take a moment, go outside, and appreciate the reality in which you live. Regardless of whether you’re at Carleton or elsewhere, I think there’s always something pretty out there somewhere to give you a sense of place and gratitude.

Lucas just entered his sophomore year at Carleton, bringing with him a passion for all things nerdy and a talent for overthinking and awkwardness (and self-deprecation). He hails from Pasadena, California, and yes, he realizes it gets cold out here. He currently sees himself majoring in Physics, although he hopes to explore Cinema and Media Studies, Chemistry, Economics, and Computer Science (among many other subjects) as well. He misses his bearded dragon. Meet the other bloggers!