On Sunday afternoon as I stood on the third floor balcony of Witherspoon watching the Embers kick off Homecoming Week, I couldn’t help but get a feeling of nostalgia as I realized this would be my fourth and final Homecoming Week as a student.
I observed freshmen walking toward Harris Field to receive their first ever Homecoming T-shirt and it felt like it was just last week that I was receiving my first red Homecoming T-shirt. While witnessing what was taking place before my eyes, memories from my time spent as a student on this campus flowed through my mind.
While reflecting on the last few years the first memories that came to mind were from my freshman Homecoming. I recall being near the front of the stage during Pack Howl, as Ludacris walked out and the crowd went wild as I felt the adrenaline course throughout my body. The atmosphere in Reynolds was something I had never expected, but I was thrilled to be a part of it.
Homecoming was the first big impression of campus life I had. It was the first big event I witnessed and the impression set the bar high for our University and for future Homecomings.
Some would suggest that last year’s Pack Howl fell well below the bar — at the time I agreed with you — but in retrospect, we had an amazing performer and were lucky to have Chris Daughtry on our campus. And in hindsight, the bar was met, Daughtry is no Ludacris, but he’s a common name on the radio now and a platinum artist.
I’m happy to have these memories as a part of my library of impressions from my college days — days which are slowly dwindling.
Pack Howl is an event that allows for school spirit and sweet songs to intertwine to form an incredible experience for not only freshmen, but Pack students as a whole. It’s times like these that you will remember for the rest of your life. You never know what event will turn out to be one of the top experiences of your time at this University.
When my first Homecoming Week came and went I didn’t think much of it — saying there’s always one next year. All through this Homecoming Week it hit me that there will longer be a “next year Homecoming Week” for me — for next year I will be an alumnus regardless.
You don’t think about this when you’re a freshman, sophomore, maybe junior, but definitely as a senior you will. It’s an unknown feeling, one which I’m still not used to.
As for now, I plan on using my last Homecoming Week the best I can by giving blood and buying cookies, even attending Pack Howl. As I have been thinking and reminiscing about the past three Homecoming Weeks, I know I want to make the most out of my final one.
I want to build upon my library of impressions of N.C. State with happy memories — memories with current and new friends. My time on this campus is now limited, and I want to ensure that I have gleaned every possible memory and story from this place that I have come to call home for the last three and half years.
Do you have a feeling of nostalgia? Tell us and e-mail [email protected].