It is from a sad and heartrending place in my life that I write this final column. As my last days of college have snuck up on me so inconspicuously, I look back on the last four years with nostalgia and gloom.
They say all good things come to an end.
Well, the things that are better than good — the great, the wonderful, the things that take your breath away, the things that you can never forget — come to more of a screeching halt, leaving you with the memories of what was, what wasn’t and what could’ve been.
I never knew such a period of happiness, as college was, would end with such a feeling of grief for everyone I will soon be leaving.
With one more summer before I leave Youngstown, this will be the only goodbye you’ll ever hear from me. From the time you read the last word until the day I leave, expect nothing but, “See you later.”
I don’t handle separation from the ones I care about well; an entire newspaper could not contain everything I wish to say, so to everyone who has made the last four years the best of my life, this is for you.
To the brotherhood of Alpha Phi Delta, thank you. I pledged in the spring of 2009 as a misguided kid who felt like the only Poland Seminary High School graduate who was stuck staying at home.
I know I’ll graduate as a man who has led you, worked hard for you, bled for you and learned from you. Every brother — past, present and future — showed me something different about how to live my life and conduct myself with the finest and noblest traits of man.
Oh, yeah, we had some fun in Boozetown, too.
If I could leave my fraternity with any advice, it would be to stick together in good times and bad. I spent a majority of my presidency in Alpha Phi Delta coping with those bad times, and the fact that none of you turned your backs on me is something I won’t ever forget.
Take care of the house, take care of the letters and take care of yourselves. Faciamus.
To all of my friends, I will miss you. I cherish many of you most of all because I let many friendships from my past fall by the wayside.
They say there is nothing in life that is more prized than a true friend. I am proud to say I have made some friends that I believe are true; these will be the people I hold in my heart forever.
To the women who stole my heart, you may keep it. You know who you are.
To the staff of The Jambar, it’s been fun. I didn’t spend the countless production nights in the office forming the bonds many of you have, but I truly enjoyed what I did and those with whom I did it.
I wish all of you the most happiness in life, and I know you will all be successes.
To each professor that helped me along the way, I thank you. If ever you doubt what you do, remember that you have one student who believes wholeheartedly that YSU and its teachers set him up for greatness.
To my parents, what can I say? You stuck by me, helped me financially and gave me the kick in the pants I needed to be a strong student.
My greatest comfort is knowing that, because of how hard you pushed me, I’ll someday be in a position to take care of you as you did me.
So, until I’m gone, I would love nothing more than to spend my remaining time with everyone who I love and will miss. I’ll probably always act like a kid, but this is the last summer I get to actually be one.
I said it best in a past column:
“I like to think I could die one day on my highest hilltop, and, as I sit there, know I reserved a part of my heart for all of the people and all of the places that influenced my life, even if they are just memories.”
I’ll never forget you, YSU. See you later.
