With all the stress of college life, everyone deserves to have a place where they can go to forget about all of their worries. A place where you can feel free, comfortable, and yes, safe. What I’m trying to say is that every college student needs their happy place.

For me, my happy place is encased in glass, always warm, and filled with tropical plants. Nestled amongst the busy UMass campus, Durfee Conservatory is a welcome oasis. No matter how stressful my day, no matter how cold it is outside, I know that I can always slip inside the front doors, pass by the sculpted rose bushes and bonsai trees, and feel the warm air of the tropical house on my skin.

Inside, it’s tranquil. Although I normally only feel comfortable when I hear background noise, the silence in Durfee is comfortable, broken only by the tinkle of wind chimes and the splashes of the waterfall and the koi pond. It’s the kind of silence that lets you clear your mind, to relax, or think, or study. Perched on the benches inside I’ve written lyrics, drawn pictures of the tropical plants, studied, or just sat back and relaxed. I’ve taken pictures of my surroundings and daydreamed about traveling to tropical and exotic locations one day.

Since my freshman year, I’ve visited Durfee almost every day, but it never gets old. As cliché as it may sound, I really do find something new every time I go – learning a new plant name or noticing the scale pattern on one of the fish in the koi pond. Although my time in college is coming to a close, with only one year left, I almost wish I could stay longer, just to be able to visit Durfee every day.

I know that when I graduate, I’ll miss the warm air, the scent of tropical flowers, the tinkling of the wind chimes, and the splashing from the koi pond. I’ll miss settling in on a bench after class and staying until closing time. I’ll miss the plants – even though I’d love to grow them in my garden, they’d never survive the northeastern climate.

Durfee has been the place I’ve gone to on numerous occasions – the place where I’ve sat and treated myself to a peach iced tea after scoring a 105 on a midterm, and the place I’ve gone when everything in life seemed to be falling apart and I desperately needed a place to be alone.

To every UMass student: if you haven’t visited Durfee yet, I highly recommend that you go, Sit on one of the benches and listen to the wind chimes and water, or walk through the pathways. Stand on the bridge and watch the fish in the koi pond.I know it sounds cheesy, but we really are lucky to have a place like this on our campus

To Durfee, my happy place: thank you. Your glass walls and tropical plants have always been there when I need a place to go, and your wind chimes and waterfalls have soothed me on many occasions.

And to college students: Find your happy place. Trust me, you’ll be glad that you did.