Dear San Antonio,
I love you.
I know students at Trinity love to say there’s nothing to do here. That you’re no Austin. No New York City. And yeah — you’re not. Thank God for that. You don’t need skyscrapers or constant noise to matter. San Antonio moves more slowly. It’s spread out, and if you don’t have a car, it can feel like the city’s keeping its best parts out of reach. But maybe that just forces students to look closer, even more locally. You’ve got history, vibrancy and culture around almost every corner. You’ve got murals splashed across highway walls, the smell of barbacoa in the air on Sunday mornings and neighborhoods that turn parking lots into dance floors during Fiesta. You’re alive, even when people don’t notice.
You’ve been around since 1718 — older than most of the country — and you wear that age proudly. It shows in your cracked sidewalks and historic buildings, and in the smell of fresh, authentic tortillas that drifts through Market Square. Every corner feels like a story: the missions that hold centuries of faith, the murals on the West Side that keep history alive and the little shops where families sell pan dulce and handmade jewelry. When I walk downtown, I can feel how many people built this city before I was ever born.
But most of us don’t always see you that way. We stay up on our hill at Trinity, tucked behind red brick walls, treating you like a backdrop instead of the community we live in. It’s so easy to stay busy — classes, club meetings, the constant rush of campus life. And to be fair, it’s not always easy to bridge that gap. Without easy public transit or time outside of class, it takes effort to reach beyond campus. But that effort is worth it. We’re missing out on something irreplaceable by not venturing away from campus.
At a recent Board of Trustees meeting, one member reminded me that Trinity doesn’t exist apart from San Antonio. Too often, we act like a castle on the hill. But the truth is, we’re part of this city — and it’s part of us.
I’ll never forget one Tuesday night during Fiesta when I was a first-year. I found myself under the highway, outside Market Square downtown, surrounded by people in love with the city. There was a small, makeshift stage with a Tejana artist singing Selena’s “Bidi Bidi Bum Bum,” and the entire crowd broke out in dance and song in the parking lot, celebrating in unison, and kids on their parents’ shoulders singing along. Strangers laughing together as if they were old friends. The air smelled like grilled corn, beer and joy. I remember standing there thinking: This is San Antonio.
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Because once you really see San Antonio — I mean, see it — you’ll never want to leave.
— Eve Slemp
I intern with Ellie Morrison, class of ’11, who founded Voice of San Antonio, a media platform dedicated to amplifying the city’s creative pulse. Working with her has changed the way I see you, San Antonio. Ellie notices beauty in the smallest things — a new exhibit tucked away in the McNay, a photographer capturing your downtown from a fresh angle, a student play revealing untold stories from different districts — and she’s taught me to slow down and notice them too. As we explore the city for stories, I’ve realized just how much heart San Antonio holds. Ellie has lived in New York and Los Angeles, but she always finds her way back here. Once you really fall in love with this city, it’s hard to leave it behind.
That’s the version of you I want more Trinity students to see. The one that exists beyond our routines. So, I urge you to go to First Friday at Blue Star and see the local artists who paint stories onto walls. Try a concha from Mi Tierra or a raspa from El Paraiso when the heat feels unbearable. Catch an outdoor movie at Mission Marquee Plaza or spend a Saturday morning at The Pearl Farmers’ Market listening to buskers play cumbia. During Día de los Muertos, explore the River Walk as glowing boats of calaveras glide along the water, ofrendas brighten the stone path and marigold petals scatter like gold beneath your feet. Volunteer with San Anto Cultural Arts and help paint a mural, or stop by the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center and see art that fights to preserve this city’s spirit. That’s where your heartbeat lives, San Antonio, not in TikTok spots or The Pearl photoshoots, but in the neighborhoods where people celebrate their identity and culture.
Loving you, San Antonio, also means caring about what happens to you. I see the cranes, the condos, the constant talk of “revitalization” that sometimes forgets who already lives here. Gentrification isn’t a pretty topic, but it’s real — and loving you with open eyes means fighting to protect your people and your culture, not replace them. We have to show up, support local businesses and celebrate the art and stories that make you who you are.
People say you’re not “world-class.” That’s fine. You’re not trying to be. You’re humble and proud and full of contradictions — old and new, loud and slow, stubborn and soft. You invite people to stay a while, to breathe, to listen.
To my fellow Trinity students: We only get four years here. That’s not long, but it’s enough to matter. Fall in love with this city while you can. Walk its streets. Hear its music. Taste its food. Learn its stories. Because once you really see San Antonio — I mean, see it — you’ll never want to leave.