The Unexpected Beauty of Staying Up All Night

By Jaeyoon Shin

It was five in the morning when I finished reading excerpts of Driesch, looked at the clock and realized that I stayed up all night. The day was slowly dawning, turning the sky from black to indigo. While aimlessly looking out the window, I suddenly felt that I should walk up to the hill and see the sky change its colors.

I packed my camera and tripod, and got out of the dorm. It was still dark and silent outside. Everything seemed to be covered with the gleam of sleepiness. I moved my feet swiftly and silently as possible toward the hill. I passed the swing and the dried stream, until I reached a flat area to place my tripod.

Sunshine came from the opposite side of the campus, filling the clouds in scarlet and orange. Sky went from indigo then to purple, and began to show the slightest hints of pale blue. The sky in the west was revealing its surreal gradations of pink and blue, painting the mountains pink to orange and finally its original dry-red.

I came down after the purple and pink left the sky. On the way back to my dorm, Jones, I sat on the bench by uppers. The shadows of the buildings created a kind of picture that looked like a scene from the french animation Les Contes de la Nuit. This is indeed the best privilege of being a St. John’s student: wandering in the rocky hills after getting lost in text and encountering the beauty in most unexpected moments.