Well here we are…almost…at the end of year one. It is beyond crazy in my mind that I am even at this point in my life where I have a year under my belt. I know that it is the most cliché thing to say “time flies,” but in all honesty it really and truly does.
Looking back at this year, I can say that I wouldn’t change a thing, I can say with full assurance that this place was where I needed to be even though it wasn’t always where I wanted to be, I can say that there have been struggles; nevertheless, they were struggles with a purpose.
I am thankful for the leaves in the fall that go hand in hand with tailgating in the Grove. I am thankful for sunsets over the airport as the planes fly in and out. I am thankful for the baristas at Starbucks who never cease to greet me with my drink and a smile as soon as I walk in.
I am thankful for the Beacon in the mornings, and Ajax in the evenings (but most of the time the Union in the mornings and evenings, which is why I am thankful for it too.) I am thankful for the library not closing until 2, and for class ending well before the afternoon begins.
More than anything, I write this with gratitude for the University that has been my home for this past year, I write this with a heart having grown for 38655, I write this with an appreciation for the community that I have found and for the friends that I have made.
I stand in awe of how everything has seemed to line up perfectly with what I needed at the exact time that I needed it; something that I believe only happened because of the place that I have been put.
I have said it before, and I will say it again…I have come to love this little town half an hour away from Memphis simply because of everything that it has taught me, everything that it has pushed me to be, and everything that it is shaping me into.
So here’s to you Ole Miss, to the years to come and the one behind…you are unique in every way possible, and I wouldn’t pick anywhere else to be in this time of my life.
Hotty Toddy, I can’t wait to see where we go!
