Graduation

The big day is over. I am officially a Virginia Tech alumnus with a B.S. degree in Biochemistry. There were those days when it seemed like this moment would never come - toiling over impossible lab reports, desperately studying for Organic exams, trying to find a way to BS (no pun intended) the Physics homework - the list goes on.

But now here we stand. Alumni.

I guess the full reality hasn't hit me quite yet that some of the people to whom I have grown the closest may never again be part of my life. So many people I know are heading to various parts of the country to pursue graduate school or join the work force. Maybe I would feel differently if I were leaving VT. In this sense, a few things will still be remaining constant. A few people will still be hanging around, and I will still be involved with the Fraternity.

But yet, the nostalgia remains.

Midnight cheesecake at Express (not DX) with the BLSC kids. Learning where the heck the buses go. Dinners with the hallmates. Pledging. Staying up until 1 AM just because. Easy classes like General Chemistry and Principles of Biology that seemed to be all we did back in the day. Cramming for Physics because real studying was just not an option. Dorm days and the unique smell of Lee Hall. Being in the CLC until 2 AM, leaving only after the whiteboards were covered with chemical reactions and sugar structures. Submitting Analytical Chemistry homework a thousand times over, only to learn that there was a typo in the answer key. The fear of the first day of BCHM 4115, and the overwhelming relief after finishing the final. Realizing that 8 AM Genetics was, indeed, a bad choice. McDonald's breakfast during Genetics, however, was a great choice. Biochem Lab and all that goes along with it. Potluck dinners. Teaching for the first time and trying to be funny (some people just don't appreciate Chemistry humor). Starburst fights in the apartment (and finding candy over the next few months). The first trip DT. Trying to guess the PChem quiz problem...and almost always guessing right. Hokie Football.

I hope that the next 5 years will bring as many memories, if not more. I will always look fondly upon these formative undergrad years as some of the best of my life. Best of luck, Class of 2007, and congratulations.