Walking through campus last week for a group meeting, it finally hit me. I looked up and realized how beautiful this place is. Although, I did question if Bradley actually spray paints its grass that beautiful green color.
No, I’m not going to appreciate the insane student debt I’ve accumulated over the past four years, but I will appreciate the hell out of my cap and gown.
Graduation is finally upon me, and I can’t help but think back to all the crazy times I’ve had at this place. From Tuesday night hookah sessions by the Illinois River to streaming “Anchorman” on the side of Olin in the quad to devising the perfect Snap Chat story of our drunken adventures from Jimmy’s to Crusens.
Does my Bradley ID give me free cover in Chicago too?
Aside from the nights I don’t remember, here’s to the years I’ll cherish forever. I’ve been lucky to not only gain a fantastic education but to also have some of the best times of my life.
If it wasn’t for the friends that I’ve gained in the dreary city of Peoria, I don’t know if I would have made it to this point. My experience with Bradley organizations have given me a dysfunctional family that nowhere else could have.
Becoming a barista at Leaves n’ Beans opened up my world in ways that I never knew it could. From open mic nights to the sheer friendliness of my buds on staff, I’ve learned so much about myself. Not to mention how much fun dare Jenga can be. The people I met through that job showed me how to feel inspired in life through honesty, love and passion.
Then I joined Bradley’s Mock Trial team. I’ve always been an opinionated person, but my Pre-Law family showed me how to voice that with confidence. Stealing the Bradley van to get some quick Taco Bell and drunken rants about silly objections will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Finally, I found my home at The Scout. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until my senior year, but it has impacted me in ways that nothing has in the past. This eclectic group of totally rad individuals has given me the shoulder I’ve been looking for all of college.
Through printer malfunctions, super inappropriate jokes and long hours discussing the music credibility of Kanye West, I found my true place. Any time that life felt too heavy, which is often in my joke of a life, I knew I had people that I could count on through everything.
After all, if they didn’t bar me for my obnoxiously loud opinions after the first day, these people were going to stick. I choke up at the idea of being dropped from our ridiculous group text thread. Nothing is better than Sam “Selfie Queen” Pallini and Gretchen “ALL CAPS” Wolking.
This organization is something I will forever boast about proudly, even after the g-word rolls around in three weeks.
So this is my sendoff letter to all the terrible all-nighters I won’t miss, the random drunken trips to La Bamba that I will regrettably miss and the people who I will proudly and endlessly miss.
Now who’s down to steal Lydia?
