Life
Beauty is all around you, especially here on the University of California campus. Take time to enjoy it.
As I was taking a lunchtime stroll along Campus Point Beach and the UCSB Lagoon the other day, I reflected on how fortunate I was to have such incredible natural beauty within steps of my office.
Birds were soaring in formation overhead, families were beachcombing, joggers and bicyclists were flying past me, and one man was taking in the panoramic scene from the cliffs.
The nation has also taken notice of our beauty. When I was back in my opaque-windowed office later, I did a little online searching and came across a 2012 article that reported UC Santa Barbara ranking No. 8 on a list of 25 Most Beautiful Schools.
Newsweek and College Prowler teamed up to consider such factors as architectural aesthetics, weather (including the number of sunny days a year and the average "comfort index"), and even the attractiveness of the student body.
I didn't need a study with its rankings to tell me that UCSB is beautiful. I have proof here in these cellphone photos from a single, hour-long lunchtime walk yesterday, where all I had to do was look up, down, and around. On this outing I didn't have time to get over to the Labyrinth, but that's another great place to visit for beauty and serenity.
