I have been an Aggie since birth thanks to my dad who is class of 86.
From a video of me marching to the Aggie War Hymn with my sister to the countless pictures of me wearing maroon, I couldn’t get enough of A&M. My parents love to tell me about the time when I was three years old and they took me to my first Aggie football game. We left early, and I began crying and told my mom, “I wanna see more Aggies.” From that moment on, I never even began to think about going to school anywhere else than Texas A&M University.
For the 18 years I spent waiting to get to College Station, I expressed my love for A&M through sports. I would get into arguments on Facebook with people who talked bad about A&M sports. I used to annoy my friends in high school about Aggie sports, even though most of them didn’t care.
Not only did I love A&M, but it was also an opportunity to bond with my dad. We always watched games and talked about next year’s team while I frequently asked him to see his Aggie ring. Now that I will have my own, I cannot wait to pass on that legacy to my children as my dad did for me.
I cannot express how important it is to me that after waiting 18 years to get to College Station and four more tumultuous and rewarding years here, that I can finally say I’m an Aggie with proof. I love everything that the ring resembles, particularly the achievement of graduating from the greatest university in the world.
My motivation to study for every test and complete every homework assignment from grades K-12 came from the idea that I could one day get into A&M and then work even harder here to get that ring. Anytime I’d make a bad grade in high school, I thought about A&M. Anytime I made a good grade in high school, I thought about A&M. Now, the main goal I set out to accomplish for my first 22 years of life has been achieved, and I couldn’t be more grateful that the day has finally come.
Joining the tradition
April 12, 2019
Photo by Provided
Architecture senior Grant Spika’s Aggie relatives inspired him to come to A&M. Pictured: sister Natalie and grandfather Bob Schmidt
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