There's Nothing Like Carolina in the Spring

Sunny days on the quad, dogwoods in full bloom, concerts and major events every weekend, graduation and those last few days on the horizon… there’s nothing like Carolina in the spring.

Chapel Hill in the spring is, no doubt, one of the most beautiful places in the world. With plenty of warm sunshine, soft breezes, and flowers blooming, every single day resembles such perfect postcard weather that I want to take pictures and send it to my friends and family with the caption “wish you were here.”

I spend a good number of my spring afternoons on Polk Place, one of the grassy quads on campus, lying out in the sun with my friends. (In fact, I’m lounging on the lawn of Hinton James, a South Campus residence hall, enjoying the beautiful weather with a friend as I write.) When you come to visit Carolina, you’ll see many people taking advantage of the pretty days here: playing Frisbee with friends on the grass, studying or reading for class under a shady tree, walking pets in McCorkle Place, or browsing the stores and grabbing lunch on Franklin Street. By the dorms, you’ll find people playing basketball or volleyball on the courts, firing up the grill for a barbeque, or grabbing a beach blanket for a picnic and a quick tan on the lawns. What you won’t find are many complaints about how nice it is outside.

Other than the weather, spring semester at Carolina is a really fun time because of student activities happening around campus. It’s during spring semester when elections for Student Government take place, so you’ll see people campaigning for a bunch of positions ranging from Student Body President to Student Congress Representative for a couple of weeks. With the gorgeous weather, student groups are sponsoring charity 5K runs in Chapel Hill; meanwhile the a cappella groups are putting on concerts and cultural interest groups are organizing showcases almost every weekend. One of my favorite events is the Residence Hall Association’s Beach Blast in mid-April, which is a big festival in Ehringhaus Field with live music, free food, free T-shirts, games, and lots more. Oh yeah, and there’s also basketball season and March Madness—something that’s kind of a big deal around here and people get pretty excited about that. ;-)
         
You know how, towards the end of a school year, everyone is eagerly counting down the days until summer break? It’s no different here. You can sense everyone’s excitement for beach trips, summer internships, going abroad, and a nice, long break from classes. With Commencement just around the corner, seniors are anxious to climb the Bell Tower (a classic senior tradition), walk into Kenan Stadium to receive their diplomas, and continue with their lives post-Carolina. Yet, at the same time, you can tell that a lot of students have mixed feelings about leaving Chapel Hill; deep down in our hearts, Carolina has become a second home and it’ll be weird to be away from it, whether for a little while or forever.

I love springtime here at Carolina and I’m ecstatic to know that I’ll get to experience it more throughout my years here. Come visit us and you’ll get a chance to see what the hype is all about!