Four crucial, pivotal and beneficial years of my life have taught me to love, learn, let go and flourish. What do you say when that all comes to a close?
I started off college at a small private university where I immediately found that I could not cast myself into a mold I clearly did not fit into. But, and in the most appropriate use of this term, I decided to give it the old college try and I stuck it out for two years. I was managing as a successful student with a handful of wonderful friends, but I knew I could be happier.
So I found a solution in one of the greatest and fondest friends of my lifetime; change. To some, change is frightening and not welcomed but I gladly wrap my arms around it in a warm embrace and take on its exciting challenges, always coming out on top and better because of it. From this change, I would begin to find out who I am. I sure am going to miss the conduit, Auburn University.
I’m going to miss the school spirit. At my old school, I had no school spirit whatsoever. The only football game I attended, I was required to because of my sorority and I was there for about 10 minutes. Here, on game day, I wake up earlier than I do on a school day. I have Game Day on in the background as I sift through almost an entire wardrobe of orange and blue, trying to decide which combination I should don that day. I scream for my team until the point of blacking out, and whether its a loss or a win, I still love “my boys.” Granted, I won’t stop being an Auburn fan after I graduate but being a fan and a student gives me such an overwhelming sense of pride and ownership of the team.
I’m going to miss my journalism professors, a fun blend of the wacky and wise who have held my hand through my transfer, inspired me to work harder than I thought I could and taught me more than I ever imagined possible; in and out of the classroom. To my mentors, my encouragers and my sticklers, I’ll miss you.
I’m going to miss The Plainsman. A year and a half of fun, hard work, late nights, frustration and accomplishment. Nothing could have prepared me more as I step out into the “real world” of journalism as my time spent at The Plainsman has. It was proved to me during my internship this summer when I thought it was my first “real world” journalism experience, that I had been there all along at The Plainsman. I’ve learned the pressures of deadline, the difficulty and sorrow of writing obituaries, the amazing feeling of having sources who trust and call upon me and, more than anything, the immeasurable power of words.
I’m going to miss my friends. My sweet, strong friends who have carried me through the hard times, laughed with me through the good times and shown me how to look at myself in a different way. These friends have taught me so many lessons. How to let go, how to forgive, how to enjoy individuality, how to accept the monkey wrenches life throws at your “perfect plans.”
I will never forget my time at Auburn. Even though all semester I’ve been wishing desperately for graduation to quickly arrive, I now find myself grasping on to each moment, whether good or bad. It’s all about to come to an end and I’m not sure what its going to be like. Its not the change ahead that scares me, but leaving behind a place that I love so much.
But I have an idea that when I hear that fight song, when I see that certain shade of orange, when I pass a stranger in a new city wearing an Auburn hat, my heart will swell and my mind will be swathed in memories. No matter where it happens, those memories will swoop me back to a time that I’m going to hold dear for the rest of my days.
War Eagle, Auburn. Man, I’m going to miss you.
