Dear Editor,
As of May 10th, I will be a graduate and alumnus of the University of Mississippi. This is something I say with an unquantifiable amount of pride and an equal amount of sadness.
I know I am not the only one, but I am so incredibly sad to be leaving the University of Mississippi that I can hardly put it into words.
I came here as a wide-eyed 19-year-old from Virginia, who had only ever been to the real South once or twice in his life. I floated the idea of going to school elsewhere, but Ole Miss was ultimately the best choice I could have ever made.
The people I have met here, the places I have seen, the experiences I have had: All these factors have led me to fall in love with Oxford, Miss. There is nowhere else in the world like it. I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that the four years I have spent here have been the best of my life.
It was not always smooth sailing. The typical stresses of finals, projects and homework always drag everyone down. But, even the bad times were pretty damn good, simply because I was here.
Sure, Ole Miss has also seen its share of controversy, but at the end of the day, we are all Rebels. We are a community that, admit it or not, loves one another because we are all Rebels. Whether in sports, a party, a class or a concert, I have seen more unity and compassion here than anywhere else I’ve ever been.
To the freshmen, sophomores and juniors that still have time left here: Enjoy it. Love this school and this town with everything you have. When it’s your time to graduate, you’ll look back with the same amount of gratitude and love as I do.
Ole Miss is truly a magical place, so do not take a single second here for granted. Sure, you can come visit after graduation, but it’s not the same. Right now, your job and responsibility (other than class, obviously) is to have as much fun as you possibly can. You are in the best position to do that here, so do not miss out.
As my life moves on, from undergrad to a weird limbo between choosing a law school or applying for jobs, I look back on my time here with nothing but fondness and satisfaction.
So thank you, Ole Miss. Thank you for everything.
Thank you for the Grove, football games and beer showers at baseball games. Thank you for Walker’s Challenge, the free concerts, the library and the Library. Thank you for Funky’s, the Round Table, the Levee, bonfires at Sardis, Rowan Oak and Double Decker.
Thank you staff. Thank you professors. Thank you faculty. Thank you for it all.
As I move into the next chapter in my life, I know I go well equipped with both knowledge and memories from my tenure here. I may be physically graduating, but the words of Frank E. Everett, Jr. ring true.
“The University is respected, but Ole Miss is loved. The University gives a diploma and regretfully terminates tenure, but one never graduates from Ole Miss.”
Thank you, Ole Miss.
Sincerely,
Mike Houde, senior journalism
