I’ve never been too big on being an Aggie. No one in my family went to Texas A&M, I’ve never bled maroon and — y’all are really going to hate this one — I even grew up a Longhorn fan. As I watched my unicorn-blue graduation cap fly through the air that May night four years ago, I had a clear vision of what my next four years would look like –– and getting my Aggie ring was never a part of it. 

I left my hometown of New Braunfels as fast as I possibly could, bursting at the seams to experience some change. I even spent most of the summer in Costa Rica before hightailing it to Arizona State. I shoved everything I could into the back of my Hyundai Kona and carried it up six flights of stairs to my new sixth-floor dorm room in Manzanita Hall. 

As I walked around my new home I saw the world in rose-gold. Arizona State’s campus was gorgeous, the student body was huge and there were so many opportunities waiting for me to grab them. 

But slowly, the honeymoon period faded and I was left with the realization that I, at 18 years old and riddled with social anxiety, had moved hundreds of miles from anyone I knew to live in the tiniest corner of a dorm room known to man. I began to struggle, but I refused to let my family see me fail. I was so determined to be out on my own and completely independent that I chose to suffer in silence, until silence was no longer an option. 

At the end of my first semester I could not have been happier to be flying home to the comfort I had always known. Being welcomed back into the warmth and familiarity of my family and lifelong friends was enough for me to know that I couldn’t go back. I do miss ASU, and there are days that I wish I would have just “pulled up my boot straps,” but leaving ASU has brought me to where I am now, and that’s exactly where I need to be. 

My choice to attend A&M was a bit of a no-brainer. I had tons of friends who already went here, and there are a slew of opportunities that come along with being an Aggie –– notably the forever family and network embodied by the Aggie Ring. 

I had my reservations about A&M after I transferred, and I’m still a known two-percenter, but letting down my walls gave me the chance to see parts of the traditions and culture that I have come to admire. I’ll admit that I have never fully bought into the yells or most of the superstitions –– I have, in fact, walked under the Century Tree alone –– but when I heard about Muster and Silver Taps, when I saw the impact that Fish Camp had on my friends — both as freshmen and as counselors or chairs — and when I participated in The Big Event for the first time, I understood the community and connectedness that Aggies always describe. 

My time here has given me so much. I have found my passion and A&M has given me invaluable opportunities to pursue that passion before leaving campus. I have gained the greatest of friends, the most memorable of experiences and the most unique opportunities.

I may have only spent two short years here — graduating on time has been a labor of love — but I can honestly say that I am glad to be an Aggie. Getting my ring is a huge accomplishment. It embodies the countless hours I have poured into my coursework and organizations, but more than that it reminds me that I will always, for the rest of my life, have an army of Aggies standing behind me. 

I am eternally grateful to my parents for their unconditional encouragement, and I hope they will be proud to see this physical manifestation of their support. I can’t wait to slip that chunk of gold on my finger, not only to celebrate my accomplishments with my friends and family, but to show what my newfound Aggie family means to me.