Photo - the grotto at my undergrad alma mater

I'm not Catholic anymore, and haven't been for a really long time, butI still find the image of the crucifix to be strikingly dramatic. It doesn't move me like it used to. I just find it artistically and aesthetically appealing.

This is a close-up detail photo of the Rosary draped around the hands of the statue of Mary that's the main focus of the grotto on the grounds of my alma mater, Dominican University in River Forest, IL.

Next to the grotto was a major makeout place, a hill in a secluded part of campus that was the destination of many canoodling couples. My first date with my first boyfriend ended up there, but I didn't get so much as a kiss. Instead, we lay on the grass looking up at the sky, while I couldn't help wondering if he'd ever roll over and lay one on me, already. I was all dressed up and everything, dammit!

Such a fool that one was. He didn't. At least on that occasion. It's still a nice memory, though. One of the only pleasant times I had with the one I not only let get away, but threw away with great force. A very wise move, as it turned out.

The grotto was never so much a religious spot for me as it was a contemplative one. I walked out there when there was something bothering me, when I had a heavy burden on my mind and needed a little alone time to think things through.

It was tranquil there, and it still is.

I was the only one there this morning, just after dawn when I walked around the campus. The ground was still muddy from winter, and a couple piles of snow still lay on the ground, but the tranquility was, for lack of a better term, heavenly.

In spring they plant flowers by the grotto, filling the space with color. Now it's uniform grey and brown, dull as the end of winter always is.

But it's still a beautiful place, a place of peace and tranquility.