An Ode To The Class of 2015
As my sophomore year has come to a close, it’s amazing to see how time has flown.
It is even more amazing to see the transformation I’ve undergone in the past two years. College is an incredibly transformative time for anyone, but I feel that, for me, it’s been extremely powerful.
Coming from a small town that never placed much emphasis on education, the Vanderbilt environment was exactly what I was seeking in the college experience. I was desperately looking for people like me–people who valued education and thirsted for it. I found that at Vanderbilt, and, for the first time in my educational career, I felt like I wasn’t the big fish in the pond anymore. Everyone around me was intelligent and driven, and, if I wanted to keep up, I’d have to work harder than ever before, and I love that feeling.
I believe everyone at Vanderbilt loves the feeling of being challenged. Everyone around me wants to be the best they can be, and the only way for that to occur is to push forward and never stop learning and striving to accomplish goals.
Being around people with similar goals and mindsets is incredibly empowering. While, at times, it can feel overwhelming–like you’re swimming in the deepest waters–it is the most rewarding way to learn and work. If everyone around you is just as hardworking and thirsty for knowledge as you are, then each success becomes that much more powerful.
Now why am I ranting about the Vanderbilt environment? Because I just had to say goodbye to some of my favorite hardworking and intelligent classmates. While Vanderbilt keeps admitting more and more powerful classes, that means I have to part with some of the most inspirational people I’ve ever met–the Vanderbilt Class of 2015.
While I won’t be seeing them in class, I know I haven’t seen the last of them. The Class of 2015 is strong, intelligent, and driven, and I know this because they are Vanderbilt graduates. That’s what Vanderbilt does. Vandy cultivates your inner thirst to learn and ignites your desire to accomplish goals. So that’s why I know our graduates are going to do amazing things.
But I am still going to miss them.
As for me, I still have work to do. I have still have Vanderbilt goals to accomplish. I could not be more excited to see what junior year brings!
Go ‘Dores.