I'm in an airport outside of College Station, Texas. I sit, waiting for my flight to go home to Georgia. The lady next to me is nice and friendly. She is a Baylor Bear. We begin to talk.
I tell her “ My name is Bailey Bumgardner and I am an HR major from Roswell Georgia."
“Georgia?” she says. "That’s really far. Why did you decide to go to A&M? "
So I sit and I think.
Texas A&M is huge. It has 52,000 students. It has the biggest resident hall and biggest stadium in the SEC. There are three Starbucks on campus and, anything else you could possibly want to eat.
But, that wasn’t it.
So I think harder.
Texas A&M has great programs. Statistically, Aggies almost always get jobs out of college.
But that’s not it either.
Johnny Manziel went here...
Nope. That's definitely not it.
Then, It hits me.
“I came here because of the Aggie Spirit.” I say.
I begin think back to the first time I toured the campus. The tour was all about tradition. They spoke about the statue of Sully. How he was a president who cared about his students. He would sit and listen to their problems. A penny for their thoughts. This is how the saying goes.
I think back to walking by the MSC, and seeing the words integrity written on it. It was one of many core values. Aggies they said ”Do not lie cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do."
Then, they took us to the monster of Kyle Field. They told us how Aggies do not sit during football games. They said “We are the 12th man. Aggies always stand to support those playing."
Finally they told stories of the Aggie Network and the Aggie Ring. How one time in the airport the tour guides flight was delayed. She began talking to an older aggie because they had seen each other’s Aggie Rings. The older Aggie asked her if she had a class that she needed to get back for the next morning. She said yes. The Aggie then bought her a different ticket for another flight. With a wink he said, "Aggies always help other Aggies, you better get going.”
“The Aggie Spirit” I ramble on. “I wanted to experience it.”
I flashback to all the experiences my freshmen year.
I flashback to Aggies at football games, standing the entire time. We stood even if we were not winning. The amazing comebacks in basketball. However, the Aggie spirit went beyond sports.
Students would go worship God every Tuesday night at Breakaway, even with all the homework they had to do.
I have lost my phone three times this year, with my debit card in the phone case, and every time an Aggie has turned it into the lost and found.
School is difficult here. However, there are Aggies, random Aggies, in my class that will stay in on a Saturday night and explain the material to me. Just to help me pass.
That is the Aggie Spirit, I think to myself. It’s wonderful. However, I know if I tell her all this now, she still wont get it. So, instead, I just smile and say:
“It’s not really something I can put into words but, it's great."
