As cliché as it sounds, it genuinely seems like yesterday that I first set foot on the Texas A&M campus. And now, to my disbelief, I have five days until I walk across the stage at Reed Arena to become a former student. As I struggle to figure out where the time went, I can’t help but look back fondly on the four years that helped shape me into the man I am today.
Spending the majority of my life in a small farm town in northeast Ohio, I had only a few years’ knowledge about Texas and even less about A&M. I discovered throughout my time here though that regardless of background or story, once you’re an Aggie, you’re always an Aggie.
The Aggie Family is for real, y’all.
One particular example that strikes me occurred last summer while I was interning in Akron, Ohio.
It was a seemingly normal morning as I barreled north up I-77 in my car adorned with the A&M bevel (long live the T-star), until suddenly I heard someone honking from behind me. I was fully expecting to be confronted by an angry morning commuter.
However, when the car pulled up beside me, the man inside honked his horn to the familiar tune of “Hullabaloo-Caneck-Caneck!” and flashed his hunk of Aggie gold at me. I enthusiastically replied with a “Whoop!” and a “Gig ’em,” and while I was unable to have a conversation with that man, it illustrated to me how expansive the Aggie family is and how, even after you leave Aggieland, you’re still part of something incredible.
With that being said, I think it is important to get involved and make as many connections as possible during your time at A&M. At times it may feel as though you’re just one fish in an ocean of 50,000-plus, but if you’re able to step out of your comfort zone you will undoubtedly find your niche and begin to mold your own Aggie experience.
It took me a couple years with different organizations, but I eventually found my niche within The Battalion — something I truly wouldn’t have experienced had I not stepped outside my comfort zone to try something new.
Getting involved and making connections not only eases the burdens of college, it provides a breadth of experience and helps forge lifelong relationships that you can carry with you anywhere you go.
As I prepare to graduate, flip my Aggie Ring and move across the country, I find myself incredibly humbled by the opportunities and experiences I received at Texas A&M University.
While I am sad that my time in Aggieland is drawing to a close, I will leave with a sense of comfort knowing that I will always be a part of this special family, and I can only hope that on some April 21 I will be able to meet the man who flashed his ring at me, eat a little and live over our days at the A&M College of Texas.
Wade Feielen is an economics senior and news reporter for The Battalion.
