In a little over a week I'll be packing up my belongings, filling up every open space in my beloved Juggernaut, putting Gordito in the back window where he belongs, and heading down the unkempt 31 to Chicago. I'll be living 4 blocks from Wrigley Field. I'm still looking for a job, so it's scary taking the leap with so much uncertainty.
I first arrived in Holland in March of 2005, visiting Hope in the middle of a snowstorm. The flakes were super large and floaty. I fell in love with the campus and the people immediately, making my choice of college an easy one. Freshmen and sophomore years in Durfee were the best way to acclimate to college life with 90 instant friends to coerce you into doing all kinds of crazy stuff. I played a year on the golf time, before I was passed by. I was accepted into the Baker Scholars program. I went on a mission trip to Memphis. I rabidly followed Hope basketball. I found out who I really wanted to be friends with. I learned. I turned 21. Junior year took me to Mulder cottage, San Francisco, London, Paris, Naples, FL, and Salem, VA. Senior year I grew up a lot, coasting through homework and spending a lot of time with friends. I lived in Gnome Home. I went to New York, The Upper Peninsula, I withstood the Norovirus. I played Arcadia Bluffs. I spent some time in a relationship which ended sooner than I would have liked, but about which I have few regrets.
There are countless people, places, and things I will miss related to Hope College, Holland, and West Michigan: Professors, good friends that I'll see less of, but still remain very special to me, a brother, sister-in-law, and niece who just melts me; Lemonjello's, Good Earth, JP's, Su Casa, Grand King, Coldstone, Fat Burrito, Mr You's, Long John Silvers, The Kletz, Winding Creek, West Ottawa, Hawkshead, Diamond Springs, frisbee at the beach, frisbee in the field, frisbee on campus, discing at Winstrom, sunsets at the beach, downpours on the pier, becoming hoarse in 5 minutes at Hope-Calvin basketball games (I think I only missed 2 Hope-Calvin games during my four years, and made it to all but one Hope tournament game), boxer rounds, shower slides, throwing ice cream cones at windows, pranks, short-sheeting, freshmen year halo, Prof Heisler's colored socks, Prof Vanderstoep's diverse collection of sweaters, Prof Claar's collection of corny economic jokes, Prof Steen's love for questions, Tryg's love for verbosity, coffee, the day class schedules were posted, my health hazard of a bike, the occasional SAC movie, Butch's, New Holland, the Curragh, 84 East, (thankfully not Club S or Parrots), Mario Kart, Wii sports, the push, mocking the pull, Captain Sundae's, Settlers of Catan nights, soccer games, hockey games, chilling in the pine grove, swatting bats in DeGraaf, fight nights, man chants, long conversations on the dune up north, pillow talk with JP, Ridgepoint, Engedi, chapels, The Gathering, The Gathering, Office nights, Lost nights, movie nights, euchre, rook, up-and-down-the-river, Ben Kweller, Switchfoot, Mates of State, Brooke Waggoner, Damien Rice, Joshua Radin, Matt Wertz, Derek Webb, Mat Kearney, Meiko, berg and his simulator, yoga, cross country road trips, the spaceship, eating far far too many green and red colored chocolate chip cookies at berg's house, deep thoughts, puns, J-Tel's hair, sunbathing above CIT, the bowl, tunnel park, the asylum, DEMA golf scramble, Durfee-Gilmore beach parties, wallyball, late night TBell excursions, craig's cruisers nasty fish, Oliver, camping, road trips, journaling in my corner of the science center, and so so much more. The friends and memories I've made will endure the rest of my life. College is so much more than an education and a piece of paper. It's a time when you figure out who you are, what you believe, what you want, and how you want to live. Thanks to everyone who's impacted my life; I can only hope I've impacted your life a little as well. Keep in touch.
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