Column published in this week's issue of the Madison County Journal. To subscribe to the Journal visit www.mainstreetnews.com
By Dallas Bordon
The time is getting closer. Even though it’s just April that exciting time for seniors is a month away.
Graduation, the final chapter in that long career of being a high school student. All that hassle for a little tassel. All those years of spending days with teachers you either disliked or loved. All those days of school plays from Elementary School to high school proms and all those days of endless homework and reports not to mention the test and quizzes are all getting ready to become a memory. Now for the seniors it’s time to prepare for one last summer break before you begin that new chapter of life, your college years. By now you have hopefully chosen and have been accepted to whichever institution of higher learning you applied to and look so forward to attending. And soon comes that time of your life that you spring away from mom and dad and that place called home, if your college choice requires distance so far that you have to live in the dorm.
I remember my high school graduation just like it was yesterday but more importantly I remember vividly my first day of moving into my new home called Drum Hall at Emmanuel College. Two hours from my parents and friends that I left behind not to mention a girlfriend I broke up with because I was “A college man,” and she was still in high school back home. My stupidity of the last part of that sentence is another topic for another time, but yes I was on my own! It took me an entire week of being on my own that I became homesick and began to see that the high of being away from everyone had its disadvantages especially at dinner time.
But after making new friends and getting settled in, I realized that making that choice to select a college away from home was a very good decision. I’ve always heard others say that it’s good to spend your first two or so years of college away from home to help you get a taste of what’s is like to be on your own even if for a short while.
For some, going away from home for college meant “party time” without being under the shadows of mom and dad. For those who came to Emmanuel, and I wasn’t one of them, looking to add partying 101 to their curriculum had to nearly leave the state to do so because of the institution’s rules. Despite tough rules and guidelines set forth by the college I still consider my days at Emmanuel some of the best times of my life. I met some great people there and formed friendships that continue today and not to go unmentioned of course, received a good education at the same time. We had great instructors there and I can easily point out my favorite classes such as my essay writing classes and an elective typing class, skills I never thought I’d be required to put into use one day.
Outside of the academic part of going to college and for the social part of the journey, there were a lot of good memories I took away from my first two years of college. The war pranks between dorms that included a lot of shaving cream, water, rope and sometimes tennis balls on nights we would sneak out of the dorms after curfew. Each year there was always the group of class clowns that found ways to keep the entire campus of some 400 students either paranoid or laughing most of the time. We found fun in the simple things on and off campus without using the “party life” as a means of entertainment.
We built friendships that remain today and I can’t end this column without adding the great education we received in the meantime. It was just a two-year college experience away from home that I spent Emmanuel but I came away with a lot of great memories.
Dallas Bordon is a regular contributor for The Madison County Journal.
