It’s more than just a hollow circle of metal on your finger. It’s more than that high school class ring you may have gotten with that colorful stone sparkling from its center.
It is your alma mater. It is the blood, sweat and tears that you shed during your years in college up until the point it is placed on your finger and even past that when you step across the stage. Getting a USC class ring is more than just the studying and hard work you put into your classes; its the memories and friends that you make.
You may have been groomed a Gamecock your whole life, going to football tailgates and screaming, “Go Cocks!” before you could even tie your shoes. Or you could have turned in your housing application on the last day before the deadline. Whatever your beginning, it is finally almost the end.
But before it's all over, your start to think about the connections that you made. The professors you used for recommendations and the advisors that helped you choose your career path. Carolina is special for a reason and its not just because of the #1 International Business program or #1 Honors College or the #1 University 101 program. It's the people that make up those programs. The heart and character that goes into the decision of participating in them and advancing them to their highest degree.
Your class ring represents your passion during every football game and the passion with every glass you raise at, "Here's a health, Carolina".
In the words of Harris Pastides: you are a student for four years, but a Gamecock for a lifetime.
This is what that USC class ring means.
1. Walking around the horseshoe. And tripping on a brick. Or three.
2. Standing in the endless lunch line at 1 p.m. in Russell on Chicken Finger Wednesday.
3. Sitting in a library cubicle while your friends are at pint night.
4. Waking up at 5 am to get that last bit of studying in.
5. Crossing your fingers waiting for your registration time to roll around.
6. Throwing your computer across the room because all your classes are already full.
7. Scrambling for your thrown laptop to type in your plan B class numbers.
8. Almost getting run over on Assembly, trying to get to the business school on a green light.
9. Walking under the tunnel to avoid crossing Assembly and getting kinda creeped out.
10. Sitting at convocation on your second day at USC and actually enjoying it.
11. Hanging out with your hall mates and watching reruns of whatever’s on Netflix.
12. Telling yourself you're going to stop eating so much Chick-Fil-A.
13. Standing in the horrible line on the second floor of Russell for Chick-Fil-A fries.
14. Waking up before 8 a.m. on Saturdays for a noon game.
15. Getting to the tailgate for said noon game by at least 9 a.m.
16. Walking (tripping) on the railroad tracks from memorial to Willy B.
17. Going to Strom to work out.
18. Then leaving Strom to go to Blatt because Strom is too intimidating.
19. Going. Up. That. Damn. Hill. On. Main. From. Swereinger.
20. Or on Sumter from West Quad…
21. Or on the Bates bridge.
22. Running back to your car parked in the Bull Street garage because you forgot your ticket.
23. Seeing Harris Pastides on campus, getting the nod and thinking you're a rock star.
