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I have an long announcement to make...
May 3, 2000, 12:00 AM
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Earlier this evening, I completed my last ever final exam at Clemson University. (And I hope it was really as easy as I thought!) In less than ten days, I will walk the stage in Littlejohn Coliseum and earn something that I have worked on for four solid years. I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on my time here as a Clemson student before I join many of you as a part of the Clemson Alumni.
For as long as I can remember, even as a little girl with my stupid little pigtails and smart-mouth, I have been in awe of Clemson University. College was this far-off thing that a bunch of smart people did if they worked really hard in high school and wanted to get good jobs. As I grew a little older and saw sitcoms and movies that took place on campuses, college was this far-off thing that a bunch of smart people did if they wanted to join fraternities and drink to their utmost desires. As I grew even older and listened to high school counselors, college was this not-so-far-off thing that a bunch of smart people did if they wanted to have the best experiences of their life and help prepare them for the "real world."
Looking back on my life, particularly the past four years, and towards the future, Clemson has been all of these for me. From my first experience with alcohol that taught me to avoid Bud Light for the rest of my life, to my job as a Resident Assistant that has taught me how to help others and that people come from all walks of life...
From my first all-night study session for Chemistry 101 that taught me that not getting sleep the night before a final means you fall asleep during the final, to one of the last classes of my career that taught me that there are professors that just don't like some students and really should not be teaching...
From my first USC football game on the hill that taught me that anyone right up against the fence will be pushed to the 10-yard-line after the most exciting 25 seconds of college football, to my last USC football game that taught me that from this point on, I have to actually pay for football tickets...
From my first sick stomach after eating in Harcombe that taught me to avoid the beef pot pie, to the last celebratory "fried chicken sandwich with Swiss cheese and fries, please" that taught me that from now on, I don't get free food anymore...
From my "break-in" to Death Valley that taught me to check the weather forecast from then on if I was going to do a stupid stunt so I wouldn't get soaked before I found my escape, to the fire my friends and I built with our Philosophy 102 books (that the bookstore wouldn't buy back) that taught us that smoke from a fire can get really out of hand...
From my first swim in the reflection pond after my freshman year that taught me to just relax and that the last final exam is such a release, to the last swim in the reflection pond after my senior year that will teach me to just relax and that the final exam is such a release...
I do know this. The past four years of my life, though I have certainly had my fair share of ups and downs, have been incredible. I don't know if they would have been the same experiences if I had been anywhere else. I have made some of the most wonderful friendships I have ever had with some of the best people. I have met the most amazing person in the world with whom I know I will be spending the rest of my life who has taught me so much but the biggest lesson was that anything worth fighting for is worth fighting for with all your might. I have learned so much, both in the classroom and from friends, enemies, and people I don't even know in 'life.' The hardest lesson for me, personally, to learn was that grades are definitely important, but they aren't everything, no matter what your teachers try to tell you. You have to go out and see what the world is like and you won't learn it from a stack of books.
I remember that first move-in day in August 1996 when I was so timid and excited, wanting my parents to leave so I could have "freedom" but at the same time, not wanting my parents to leave because I didn't know if I was ready for that next step towards "freedom" just yet. Years from now, I will look at this somewhat philosophical mood I'm in now, and probably reflect, "I was so timid and excited, wanting to hurry and graduate so I could have 'freedom' but at the same time, not wanting to graduate because I didn't know if I was ready for that last step towards 'freedom' just yet."
When I walk the stage next Friday sometime after 2:30 pm in my cap and gown, I will bet anyone (with the first million dollars that I will someday earn) that all of these experiences, and then some, will be crossing my mind and filling my eyes with tears. They will be tears of joy and happiness... of pride and loyalty... but a little sadness too. I will be so joyous and happy because I will be earning something I have yearned for, all my life - a diploma from the university I was brought up with, and am in awe of... I will be proud and loyal because I am earning something that my father earned exactly 25 years ago from the same institution and that's one bond that can't just appear or disappear... But I will be a little sad because I am leaving so many people and places behind. Oh yes, I will return for football games and alumni gatherings and visiting good friends, but it won't be the same. After May 12, I will return as a graduate, not a student. I will return with just a little more than I left, but a little less too.
The next time I sing the alma mater, it will choke me up as I sing the last line and raise my hand - as it always has. But this time will be different. I will have in my possession something that can never be taken away and will certainly change my life. I will have earned my diploma, and will be part of the Clemson University Alumni.
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