Walk of Peace

Red-eared slider turtle
Name
Theresa Voss
Affiliation
Donor
UC Davis Alumni
Memory

As an undergrad at UCD, I put enormous pressure on myself to succeed in my studies. I'd spend entire weekends in Shields Library studying in the book stacks where I knew that I wouldn't be distracted. Looking back, I realize that the one thing that kept me focused wasn't really the quiet smell of old books and their silent presence on the shelves. It was the sure knowledge that I would afford myself one or two breaks during the day to hike out to Putah Creek at the Arboretum there to look for the red eared sliders basking in the sun, smell a flowering plant that attracted honey bees or watch families with kids cycling or walking the path together. I'd look at the carefully placed plant identifications and listen to the distant freeway and somehow all that I had tried to shelve in my brain would become catalogued and processed. Then, the sense of normal life would breeze through and clear the dust from the shelves. I'm so grateful to all those who made this place of peace and rest for me during those intense undergraduate years, and I am so thankful that I learned to balance work and rest in such a place.

Date
1982