To my graduating class,
Thank you. I never truly realized what all you did for me or how much being away from you all would suck when college started.
For most of us, we're now in the second semester of our freshman year at college. In fact, we're so close to the end of our freshman year that we really only have about a month and left of school. I never realized how much you all did for me until I got to school.
Growing up we did everything together. We learned together, watched heartbreaks happen, we went all out for homecoming week, we gave it our all for state titles that we won and those we didn't, we found out what it truly meant to lose someone dear to us, but more importantly we were family.
Our memories together began in elementary school, the days where we thought we were the cool kids if we got to go to the Candy Man celebrations. In middle school we were obsessed with trying to find ourselves and nine times out of ten we found ourselves at Wheels on a Saturday night because let's be honest, skating was pretty awesome! High school came and it slowly started to dawn on me that each year closer to graduation seemed to be shorter than the last. Friday night football games seemed to disappear into girls soccer and before we knew it, it was prom season again. I can still hear Mr. Foster's speech at freshman orientation, "I won't say these will be the best years of your life because that means the rest of your life will be a let down, but I will say that your time as a Stallion will never be forgotten." There isn't a day that goes by that I don't hear or see something that reminds me of home. Some mornings I wake up and the only thing I want is to be a senior in high school again, having the time of my life with all of you.
When I got to Campbell to start my college career I soon realized that almost no one even knew where Southwest was. It was one of the weirdest feelings I've ever had. In our town, everyone knew who we were by just the sight of a t-shirt. In town you can't walk into Wal-Mart without seeing someone you know and talking for at least ten minutes, yet here I was at a school where no one had ever even heard of us. It was a little heartbreaking but it also gave me the chance to have a fresh start.
As fun as college has been and as thankful I am to be at Campbell, I do miss all of you. Our breaks never seem long enough for the visits but I guess that's part of growing up. I don't think I'll ever make bonds like the ones we all have again, but that's okay. The little joy I get when I see someone's post of their time at school or the latest adventure they're taking on is a joy that can only happen because of all the time we spent together. Thank you all for the memories we've made, for being there during our awkward phase, and for being the faces I think of when home comes to mind. No matter where we go in life, no matter the path we decide to take, and even on our worst days we will always have the heart of a Stallion. Remember, Once a Stallion Always a Stallion.
