As I stare at my blank page, it seems impossible to encapsulate college in a final column. I went from being a moody teenager -- who admittedly didn't really want to go here -- to a hopefully wiser 20-something with Wahoo spirit to spare.
Would it be a cliché to say these have been the best four years of my life? Undoubtedly, but what can I say -- I wasn't a cheerleader in high school. People ask me, "Did you make the right choice coming to the University?" It's not as simple an answer as you might imagine. The thing is, the experiences that made my time here so memorable are not inherent to the University. Sure, I love Grounds, walking down the Lawn, wearing sundresses to football games and togas to parties. I've learned a lot and I've enjoyed many things like community service, Greek life and study abroad. But that stuff's neither here nor there. While I may not forget streaking the Lawn or my sorority, I've probably already forgotten 90 percent of what I've learned in class and I still don't know where Thornton Hall is.
The thing about this school, these years, is that I've made such absurdly good friends that I don't understand how we could have possibly ended up in the same place. I must have made the right choice, because otherwise my friends might be some mediocre people who don't appreciate the importance of secret societies or horse races or why an obese middle-aged musician is worth going to see every Wednesday night. That's not really the kind of world I want to live in.
I think about my little brother who's about to graduate from high school and I remember how badly I wanted to get out. I knew I'd miss home and my friends but I was ready to go to college, and senioritis was alive and real. A lot of my friends at other colleges are like that today, but no one here seems eager to leave. Most are happy to stop doing homework, but if you comment on how many days are left until graduation, most people will cover their ears. I'm having a lot of trouble finding anyone reconciled to leaving the University, and I can't blame them -- it's pretty great here.
There's not much tangible to explain the University's greatness, although I will most likely harass any new friends with the "Good Ol' Song" and stories of Thomas Jefferson. There's just a feeling here. I'm convinced the University really is a special place with above average people who might have a little TJ magic in them.
There's a line in the book "Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books" that says, "You get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place ... like you'll not only miss the people you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you'll never be this way again."
Maybe we don't want to leave because the University has brought out something special in all of us. Not just the U-Guides or the RAs or fratstars or the athletes, although they're cool too. I get the feeling that the "real world" is not going to compare to college or, worse, we're not going to be this good in the "real world." I put this in quotes because who's to say this is less real than anywhere else? Then again, of course it is, because if we're being honest with ourselves, this is pretty much as good as it gets.
Luckily for me, I intend to keep the friends I've found and plan to visit the University more often than I should. My children will likely grow up wearing orange and blue, and TJ will undoubtedly be the name of a dog, fish or omniscient deity in our home. Please forgive my premature nostalgia and desire to send my memories out into the ether, hoping in some small way to contribute to the legacy of the Class of 2008. You'll feel this way some day, I promise. So for you lucky kids reading this who have a couple of years left, all I have to say is this: It's going to go faster than you ever imagined, times 10 even, so try to ignore school and achievements and life every once in a while and just soak it all in.
Alex's column ran biweekly Thursdays. She can be reached at jospin@cavalierdaily.com.
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