"You don't go to Notre Dame to learn something; you go to Notre Dame to be somebody."

It's taken me a little bit to get my thoughts together regarding the fire at Notre Dame. My trip to Paris in 2012 was my first real trip out of the country; I was a junior in college, going into my senior year, with a love of art history. Notre Dame is a place that is easily on everyone's list when they're visiting the city, and I was no exception. I always hold a little bit of cynicism when it comes to locations or pieces of art that are that famous - there's always a worry they won't live up to the hype. I can honestly say that Notre Dame was everything you could have imagined it to be, and even some things that you probably weren't expecting. Not being a religious person, I've always found places of worship interesting, and the ancient cathedral was no exception. Walking through the pews both during a Sunday service as well as during the week gave me an appreciation of the acoustics and architecture, with the cherry on top the awe-inspiring stained glass windows. Notre Dame is one of my fondest memories from my time spent in Paris, and the video of the fire gutting the spire is one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen.

The title of this post is a quote from Lou Holtz that I believe captures Notre Dame in a nutshell; not just for me, but for anyone who was lucky enough to walk through the doors. I can only hope the next time I visit Paris it's been restored back to its former glory.