This is Aggieland.
I know I’m not the sort who fits the typical ‘aggie’ mold. I’m a liberal who can’t stand our current president (who, by the way, is pretty respected around here, being from Texas himself - if you hadn’t noticed that already XD), supports gay rights, is pro-choice, and celebrates individuality while rebelling against media brainwashing.
So why am I here?
About a week ago I asked myself that. I sat down after class, and it occurred to me - what the hell did I think I was doing? This isn’t where I belong. This isn’t me.
But I’ve experienced a lot in the last week that’s changed my mind for the better. I guess you could say I’ve finally got a grip of “the spirit of aggieland” (for those of you who don’t know - look it up. It’s one of the school songs).
Plenty of you know that A&M is a school deeply entrenched in traditions. I experienced two of these in the past week, and it has completely changed how I view this school and the city that I am now proud to call home.
The first was our (yes, our) first game of the season. My first time at a college football game.
The sheer number of people was amazing. [I think the final count was somewhere around 76,000.] Everyone gathered together, excited to just be there, and proud to wear maroon for the team we’re all a part of. Again, for you non-aggies, the key to this tradition here is the idea of the 12th man - that every Aggie, no matter their age, acts as that 12th member of the team, there to support and encourage and help out however they can - and to symbolize that tradition, the entire student body remains standing for the duration of the game.
Don’t worry, it doesn’t stop there.
Even in the heat, exhausted from the sun beating down on thousands of bodies all packed together on the stands, everyone still joins in the Yells (the Aggie equivalent to cheering, where the whole student body joins in). Everyone is shouting nonsense that, to be honest, would sound completely insane out of context, and making complete fools of themselves in ridiculously hot weather, to let the team know we’re here beside them, win or lose (we lost, by the way).
My other (and much more somber) experience in the last week was Silver Taps. This ceremony is a gathering to honor fellow Aggies - members of the university who passed away the previous month. The ceremony is simple; nothing is said aloud as the guard marches in and fires a salute, followed by the playing of silver taps three times.
It’s not the sort of ceremony you’d expect. No one is sobbing hysterically, no one is giving a speech about the deceased. I think some of the strength of the experience is the fact that no one needs to say anything.
To stand in that crowd was a powerful feeling. It was hot and sticky, and almost pitch black. No one made a sound. But there was this…knowledge, I guess, that we were all there to say together: We are here for you. We will remember…without ever speaking a word.
You get that feeling all around campus, that one of us is all of us…people go out of their way to open doors or lend a helping hand. And that’s a tradition that I’ll always admire.
So maybe brainwashing isn’t all that bad, after all ;)
GIG’EM!