The Aggie Ring. The little piece of gold that means you’ve made it. The small, bright circle that is supposed to be a symbol of status and demand attention and respect.
For me, however, the ring will serve as a conduit to all the memories I have made at Texas A&M.
When I look at my ring after I graduate it will remind me of the journey I took to get it. I hope when I look at my ring at a future job interview, I will be able to remember all the people I have met here, and it will provide me some comfort, taking me to a place where I was loved and was always surrounded by friends.
The tests, stress and copious amounts of coffee consumed during my undergrad career will also be a part of my ring. But more importantly, it will take me back to “studying” in coffee shops with my friends on weeknights, back to the late-night walks home from Northgate on weekends. It will take me back to riding my bike to class in the Texas heat everyday, and it will even remind me of that time I went dumpster diving with my roommates to get furniture for our apartment.
Looking at it, I’ll remember all of the memories that led up to my Ring Day, and I’ll recall my ring dunk. The one night it will be acceptable to make my friends kiss my ring and to get on top of a table and announce, “I’m the king of College Station because I have received my Aggie Ring today.”
I’ll think back to when I didn’t even want an Aggie Ring. It was insisted on me by my parents, which is surprising because I didn’t make the grades they wanted a lot of the times and made some dents in their bank account (along with a couple of cars) in my time in Aggieland.
Even though I am a third-generation Aggie, I never really thought about getting my Aggie Ring, until everyone kept asking me, “You’re really not getting a ring?” I waited until the last day to order one, and it just hit me how excited to receive it I have become.
And because my ring will have all these memories, it will make me less nervous at that job interview. It will remind me that if I can earn that gold ring, there is little on this earth I can’t do if I work hard enough.
When I put that ring on, it’ll weigh my finger down, and it will feel strange at first. But, soon I’ll get used to looking down at it and trying to see my reflection in the gold and see the person I am now. At that job interview I’ll look down at my reflection and compare it to the person I have become. Hopefully, I will still cherish that gold ring as a symbol of my college years and not something that I demand respect with to strangers I meet. But, of course, it demands a little respect.
Jack Riewe is an English senior and assistant news editor for The Battalion.