Chaney Rankin
Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Massachusetts

You can walk down the swarming streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts, wilting in the summer heat, avoiding the spiky-haired denizens of the Pit (Harvard Square’s subway stop) and duck through some wrought iron and imposing brick into another world. Thoroughly walled off from the chaos of the square, Harvard Yard sparkles green-gold through sunlit trees. The squirrels are fearless, the grass is soft, and the tour groups usually aren’t too noisy. My memories of the yard are polished golden by the tumbling emotions of a teenage summer spent there. I remember it as the illustration of my heart.

Chaney Rankin is an editorial assistant at TRAVELER.