About a week ago, I was inside the Fine Arts Building for work study. My job from 12 to 3 on a Monday afternoon consists of maintaining the printmaking studio room 303. On Friday, I work from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the other room, 305. One Friday in 305 as I sat by the table with my headphones in my ears listening to my iPod, I noticed the back door that goes out to a balcony. Around noon, I cropped open the door with one of the chair stools and immediately got a feel for the outside breeze. At first I was hesitant to go outside because I didn’t know if it was safe or if I would get locked out. However, I decided to leave my iPod behind in the room and ventured down the long balcony. The balcony was mainly plain, but had a few randomly placed chairs and a wooden coffee table towards the far end. The balcony stretched across the length of a room and was on the third floor. What amazed me was the view. I could see Parker Theater, students walking through campus, the gym parking lot, the gym, and especially the colorful trees surrounding all of it. Towards the edge of the balcony was a clear view of Mohonk Mountain and the rest of the Shawangunk Mountain range. The mountain was like a painting; each tree drenched in a different color as bright and beautiful as a rainbow. This sight put a smile on my face and so I decided to stay outside. As the sun came up, I sat down on one of the chairs and hanged my legs over the small coffee table. I closed my eyes and meditated as I took in the sun. The sun was strong enough to warm my body and blind my face. I took a deep breath and just sat in the chair thinking.
I could hear the steady gust of wind, the voices of people, cars driving by, birds chirping and squirrels scuttling. When I stood up, the cars and the people seemed like toys from the height. When I left the balcony, and went inside I felt that the happiness that came from being outside faded. I sat for the remainder of the time near all the printmaking devices and placed the headphones back in my ears. I was once again surrounded by technology.