The Stuff of Legends

After being gone all weekend for retreat formation, I took a few days to visit Mr. Jefferson's school up the road. I have a cousin who did his undergrad there and is now in his third year of law school, so I had a couch with my name. My mother also got her bachelor's from this school, three of my siblings applied there, and, in general, it's a big deal in my part of the world. And yet, somehow, I had never before set foot on its campus. Or the Grounds, as they call it.

I received a quick drive-through of the town, a briskly paced walking tour of campus (my cousin averages the same walking speed that I do), and an introduction to the group of Catholic law students on campus.

Sometimes I go to places and I don't understand. I don't understand what the big deal is, what the people who love it find so compelling. At Mr. Jefferson's school, I got it. I understand why people love that school and why it forms students into the people who come out of that school.

I decided that if I ever become a professor, I want to teach there and live along the Lawn. In Mr. Jefferson's first idea, the students and professors all lived along the Lawn. Students have little rooms and professors have larger "Pavilions." Classes took place in the professors' homes. While I am certain that I chose the right school for me, I love that original plan and I like the idea of living in community with students, so that the university is centered around a strong academic community.

As an end/side note:

I also decided that I really do like law students. Every time I meet them, I tend to think they are awesome people and want to be their friends, and I met so many this weekend, that I decided as a general rule, law students are cool. I don't want to be one however, so I will content myself with being their friend, roommate, and family.