I got credit for completing over 90 hours last semester. I ordered my Aggie Ring in January. That Ring Day is coming up this Thursday. 

I like jewelry. I wear cheap necklaces, anklets and bracelets that turn my skin green. This one won’t. Plus, I think it symbolizes a little more than my Forever 21 mushroom necklace.

So now I’m sitting in class, not paying attention like I should be, and trying to understand why I care so much about this ring.

I received my acceptance letter into the Aggie family in 2019. I got packed and moved to College Station, the “Home of Texas A&M University,” in 2020. I thought that made me an Aggie, part of the 12th Man. But that’s not really it, is it?

I think being an Aggie is all the little things that bind us together. Maybe it’s struggling to register every semester, maybe it’s genuinely questioning if the squirrels are robots (spoiler: they are), maybe it’s wondering how many Starbucks locations there really are on campus or maybe it’s looking forward to dropping your ring into a full pitcher and hoping you don’t swallow it. 

I think these have slowly made me more of an Aggie. My admission portal said “Welcome to the Aggie Family” years ago. For nearly three years, I have been hoarding maroon t-shirts and noting “TAMU Class of ‘24” in my social media profiles. So, do I see myself as an Aggie now?

I have never stepped on the A&M seal on Military Walk, so I assume I’ll graduate at some point. But this Thursday, I will have received my favorite piece of jewelry. 

Here’s to me really becoming an Aggie.