Reasons to Like Houghton College pt. 1

I'm not going to apologize for putting this post up on Saturday morning. I will, however, apologize for the fact that my last post was the definition of mental vomit. Next time I'll try to get what's been cogitated and refine it a little.

The Middle of Nowhere

If you were once a kid who liked cartoons, the title Courage the Cowardly Dog might mean something to you. Courage was a little pink dog who lived with two old people in the (extremely) little town of Nowhere, Kansas. I bring this up because if Houghton had another name that would be fairly accurate.

Before I go on, I fully realize and admit to not having lived in a lot of small towns; I've always lived in or near cities, even when I was in Asia, so I can't say I'm an expert on them. Yes, Houghton does have Fillmore and Olean and other small towns nearby, so we're not entirely isolated. Thank you for allowing me to take that paragraph to nullify my hyperbole created in the first.

The main deal is that Houghton College, located in the town of Houghton, New York, is not the largest location out there. Outside of our cafeteria and Big Al's in the basement, the only other places to eat are a Subway and a Chinese restaurant, both within walking distance. We have a post office and an environmental centre that used to be a gas station. This is a college town in every sense of the word.

It really goes beyond being physically isolated from the rest of the world, though. Houghton College is a Christian academic institution, and that makes a world of difference. Walking around at a very warm one o' clock this morning, I took time to marvel at creation and appreciate what I have here. As I go by townhouses I don't hear music that blares or pounds, no screaming or yelling. I can (fairly) safely assume that there aren't alcohol-fueled orgies occurring in the dorms and what have you, and that I won't be drunkenly asked if someone can use my phone (I'd say no, mainly because I don't own a phone). All I could hear was the rustling of the leaves in the wind.

I'd like to attribute my penchant for peacefulness to the fact that I consider myself a pretty chilled individual, but I don't know. Maybe I'm still just trying to brush off my summertime introversion (which sounds like an oxymoron, but isn't), and this is the place to ease into that. Either way, it was a beautiful night last night, and I couldn't have enjoyed it like I did on the campus of Houghton College.