Dwide Schrude said:
It's been 16 years since I graduated from A&M, but when I think about my time there, it almost feels like…a dream? I remember it fondly and with deep nostalgia, but it's like I'm watching it in a movie, not my own life. Walking around campus today feels simultaneously familiar yet foreign. Anyone else?
I've also forgotten a bunch of the little things. How did I find my classes within a building? How did I know to get around without Google Maps? What did I think life would be like after college? How did I figure all these things out as an 18 year old?
Just a weird feeling.
I graduated 48 years ago. I do remember a great many things, almost all of them wonderful things as well. I came from a small town, neither parent went to college, and only one girl cousin had gone at the time I went to Aggieland. Though you were 18, I was 23 when I first set foot on campus. And I agree about no Google Maps and such. Finding the buildings and classrooms was a big deal to me. But there was this 18 year old gal that I followed up to A&M and I would have done anything to be around her and a part of her life, so I managed.
Recently, my wife (who was that 18 year old when first I attended) and I went to campus for Ring Day and later graduation of our oldest granddaughter. I recognized almost nothing, but then I did not walk over to where our dorms were. I graduated alone, as far as family goes. There was ice on some of the bridges that day, and my parents were older, and so nobody attended. Different story for my granddaughter! Things change, so the fact that it all looked different to me isn't a big deal. My time was my time, her time is now. I will say that those on campus responsible for Ring Day and graduation did an excellent job. So many people for both events, seemed to me as if everything went off without a hitch. I was impressed with the student helpers for Ring Day.
To me, I consider the finding buildings and classrooms' registering for classes, and figuring out so many things yourself while on campus away from home, without a parent there to guide and help you, is an important part of the learning process. Figuring out solutions, jumping the many hurdles that you face, being forced to handle things. The ability to do all those things follows you throughout your life, while so much stuff from textbooks never did.
