A view for the ages

This year, I was lucky enough to have Notre Dame’s greatest dorm room. The bed was stiff. The chairs always rocked and could never sit flat. The sink could never keep warm water. The view, however, was otherworldly.

This unremarkable Zahm double has a postcard-perfect western view out on to the Main Building and the Basilica, and opening the door, it felt as if these monuments were constantly in the room with you. Someone once told me Notre Dame is a thin place, meaning the distance between heaven and the earth is just a little bit closer. After watching the sun set over the golden reflection of the dome so close I could almost touch it every night this year, I saw how thin this place can get. 

Through that window, I watched first-years lug bags through the Indiana summer heat, the band’s drums of the “wake up the echoes” through the golden leaves, the first snow angels and students set up hammocks on the freshly mowed grass of God Quad. All of these moments would have been picturesque on their own at a place as beautiful as Notre Dame, but what made them special was the people. Each sunset, first date, school-wide snowball battle, late-night study session and walk to the tailgates is unforgettable, but only because of the people we share these snapshots of our lives with. As I watched each of these moments from my window this year, I saw that all of us only share a fleeting instance to witness the beauty of Notre Dame and what it can impart to us. 

Whether it is looking out my golden window or my walks across campus, the story is always the same. At Notre Dame, life is a series of picturesque vignettes that would not be the same if not surrounded by the strangers we have come to call family. 

A walk by St. Mary’s Lake is unlike anywhere else. The sunset seems to last forever, and it only gets more gorgeous every time you take your eyes off it. Yet, it is not the same without the couple nervously holding hands for the first time, the huffing of the guys trying to run off their spring break beer intake or the laughing of friends skipping stones.

The ideals of Notre Dame will always be here. Our Roman Catholic school — founded by a French order with an Irish mascot, which attracts students from all around the world — is not going anywhere.  

It was a group of Holy Cross Brothers led by Fr. Sorin who first shared in the companionship of this place. They only shared a fleeting moment here on these grounds, but their impact has inspired generations of us to “be a force for good.” 

In these dwindling days, when only the seniors remain on campus, this point is the most evident. It is as if the heart of campus is missing. The grasses shimmer in the morning dew, and the flowers float on the cool lake effect breeze, but it just is not the same. 

I am reminded of the moment last Thursday when I finished college. Sitting in the reading room library chair that I had been glued to for days, I sent one final email. Checking that it had been delivered, I looked around at my fellow worker bees and unceremoniously closed my tabs and shut my laptop — it was all over. As I walked out of Hes, I looked out toward the dome, and it was backlit by a pastel sky with sharp hues of pink and orange as the sun went down. I don’t think I have ever seen a moment so beautiful at Notre Dame. 

I wasn’t the only one who noticed this moment. Across the quad, there were groups of students hugging with tears in their eyes, saying goodbye, taking photos to send to their parents, and it was uncanny to watch the shared moment of awe on all of their faces. Whether they were heading into the library for their first-year finals or coming out of the building for the last time, like me, we all shared a captivating moment in the beauty of Notre Dame. I am sure this well-timed sunset spectacular would have been magical even if I were the only person to see it. However, what I experienced that night reminded me of what is so special about Notre Dame. All of us, accomplished and ambitious, share only a fleeting moment together to witness the beauty of Notre Dame and what it can impart to us. 

Thank you, Notre Dame and The Observer, for a foundation that will propel us through the years. I want to wish a warm and sincere congratulations to my classmates, seniors and soon-to-be fellow young alumni. With that being said, this is Jack Sirianni signing off.