Up until about a year ago, I truly did not know much about the Aggie Ring.

I knew it was something I wanted, and I knew it would take me 90 hours of work to get there. Really, this was about it.

I didn’t come from an Aggie, “bleed maroon from birth” type of family. My parents, both native Coloradans, didn’t really care where I went to college as long as I made sure to keep visiting and was happy. While their kindness and genuine support for whatever I wanted is not something that I would trade for the world, my irritating indecisiveness on the subject almost made me wish I did have someone telling me what to do. Ultimately, I didn’t decide that I wanted to attend Texas A&M until fairly late into my senior year of high school — and I truly couldn’t be more glad that I did. 

Throughout the past year, I’ve learned a lot about what the Aggie Ring means. I’ve learned it makes me a part of a close-knit and kind network, and that it represents more than one hundred years of beloved tradition. I’ve also learned that I need to do whatever it takes to not lose it. I’ve seen the results of this, and it isn’t pretty. 

But most importantly, I’ve learned what the Aggie Ring means to me. To me, this ring is not only a physical representation of the three years of extremely hard work that I have put in at this institution, but also a reminder of everything that I have gained here. Over the past years at A&M, I have been lucky enough to make some of my best friends with whom I hold experiences that are not only unforgettable, but also completely irreplaceable. I know that we will all be struggling together through our ring dunk next semester, so that will add a whole other level to “what the Aggie Ring means to me.”

My ring is also a representation of everything that I have learned about myself in my time at A&M. It represents how I reconnected with my love of writing, as well as how I decided to cultivate this passion through organizations like The Battalion, A-line Magazine and The Eckleburg Project. To the staff of all of these organizations, I would like to say thank you and that you’ve done more for me than you know.

To my friends and family, thank you for your unconditional love and support throughout these years. It means everything to me. 

Hopefully senior year brings just as much love and joy as the past three have! Thanks and Gig’em!