August 10 to 15, 2015.
The week the Freshman class of 2019 moves onto campus.
The week that mean last year's freshmen can finally say that they are no longer the youngest class on campus and the week that Seniors can shed a tear because the countdown to graduation will officially begin (unless you’re a super senior and five years is more your thing, no shame).
The week that we add nearly 4,000 students to our band of Tennessee Volunteers.
So, rising freshmen (and current UT students, you listen too), I just have one question for you, do you really have what it takes to be a Tennessee Volunteer?
Now don’t get me wrong, if you’re enrolled as a freshman at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, you are obviously already a Vol by University standards. I get that. But what does it really mean to be a Tennessee Volunteer?
OK, here's a quick history lesson:
We all know, or we all should know, that the Tennessee Volunteers earned their name back in the war of 1812. President James Madison asked for 1,500 volunteers to be sent to aid in the fighting against the French and thus 1,500 volunteers went. As Tennesseans, we are proud to be known throughout the country as the selfless state of volunteers, a state that saw a need and met it no matter the cost.
With that being said, as students of a University whose name comes from such a noble history, do we have what it takes to represent our University the way it deserves to be represented? And when we call ourselves Vols For Life, what does that actually mean?
Well to me, as a rising Junior, to be a Tennessee Vol means to “Give My All For Tennessee” everyday.
On game days, it means to rock my orange and white checkered overalls with pride. It means to sing the lyrics of Rocky Top at the top of my lungs with thousands of others whenever we score a touchdown in Neyland stadium.
It means treating my education like it matters. It means going to class and treating it like it’s priority. It also means pushing my friends to pursue their full academic potentials as well.
As a whole, it means drinking responsibly and maturely in public. It means making sure that our friends and ourselves get home safely at the end of a night out. It means being willing to pick up friends who may or may not pass out in the back seat of your car if it saves them from a long walk home alone in the Fort.
It means making sure that Netflix is only a hobby and not a lifestyle (no matter how addicting "Grey’s Anatomy" can be). It means hiking up to the bluffs every once in awhile and watching the sunset over our beautiful city.
It means late night trips to Cookout and enjoying an entire Cookout Tray on your own. It means midnight pizza parties in Hodges library and Insomnia cookie deliveries to dorm rooms at 3 a.m. when you have class at 8.
It means being in a sorority but also loving those outside of the Greek community. It means wearing my letters with the same pride and respect that I wear my orange and white.
And it means being a part of a University where students are not just a number, but where you are a part of a family.
So, rising freshmen and current UT students, you think you have what it takes to be a Tennessee Vol?
Okay, then prove it.
