Homecoming

This past Saturday I visited my alma mater for Homecoming. I have been out of Ball State University for 26 years and have only ever attended one other homecoming in all that time. I loved my time in college, I really loved it, but life got in the way. Looking back now with some sadness, visiting BSU was never high on my list of priorities.

When I left home and went to Ball State to become a teacher, I found my home away from home. I got to live with one of my best friends from high school and added the most wonderful new friends to my life. College suited me and I was all in. I loved being a part of the Teacher’s College. It was like our own little sorority. I met the best future educators and my professors were some of the most talented people I’ve come across since. I loved going to class and learning about students with learning disabilities. I had found my passion and my purpose.

Upon graduating, I turned my focus to building a new life in Indianapolis, and found my next “home away from home”. I landed my first teaching job and it was better than I could have imagined. Sadly, I wasn’t great at keeping up with college friends and let many of those precious relationships die over the years. I got married and became a mom and those four years faded into the background. I know some of you can relate. What was once the most important part of your life can become a memory so quickly.

Fast forward 25 years and I got one of the biggest gifts of my life! My precious daughter, Ally, started her freshman year at Ball State! My girl was going to my school. I was so excited for her. I knew all that Ball State had given me and I wanted that for her, and more. I was a proud mom for sure. Her older brother had chosen a different college, and even after one of my college roommates and I tried to lure him to BSU with an awesome visit, he went in another direction.

But Ally fell in love with my school and was even accepted with early admittance. I was beyond excited. The campus has gotten amazingly high-tech and they’ve done so much work to make it even more beautiful. Being back on camps for her orientation day brought back a million memories. Moving her into the dorms brought back even more. The dorms that I called home as a freshman have been torn down and replaced by brand-new ones. And Ally happened to be in one of those. It was sort of like a changing-of-the-guard moment for me. Old dorms to new dorms, old memories to new memories.

I got to imagine perfectly the places that my daughter visited. I saw those late-night study sessions with friends in the common spaces. I saw her walking down the dorm hallways meeting new people. Hanging out in rooms of friends who were strangers just days before. When she had a class in a building, I could picture the exact steps she would take to get there. It was, and still is, such a precious gift to get to be on this journey with her…a sweet second time around for me.

This brings me to Saturday. My husband and I have become master tailgaters with three kids already at college. I was very excited that he was making the trip with me. He went to a different state school south of here, so he had never experienced a BSU Homecoming. So, we loaded the van with enough food to feed a small crew, one of Ally’s high school friends came along, and we headed to Muncie. For this late in October, it was a perfect day. Full sun in the blue sky, a nice bit of wind, and warm temperatures set the scene. We picked up Ally and one of her roommates from their apartment and got in line to find our spot in the parking lots.

The tailgate lots were jam-packed! Tents and grills and corn hole boards were laid out as far as the eye could see. Ball State flags of all designs were blowing with the breeze. People of all ages were enjoying the day. Graduates from decades long past stood with future generations. We met girls who just graduated and ran into people I knew from my hometown who graduated in the 1980s. It was such a coming together of people. Everyone was decked out in the Cardinal colors of red, white, and black…and were wearing them with pride!

I got a very good reminder that Ball State means a whole lot to a whole lot of people. Being in a state where several other bigger colleges get most of the attention, BSU can feel like an afterthought. But not Saturday! Saturday was a front-and-center reminder to me that we are a big deal, too! I am so proud of my college and so proud that my daughter is following in my footsteps. She and her friends were decked out in the Ball State gear and it was so fun to see. It brings this old girl so much new fun and excitement.

A thank you to Ally and her friends for taking us around to meet the new generation of Cardinals. Thank you to all the tailgaters we met who welcomed us to stop by and visit. Thank you to BSU for throwing a REALLY good tailgate and for offering a college that is just right for so many people. Next time we will have to visit a few of my old stomping grounds, but for now, being back for Homecoming was the perfect way to reconnect and let the cherished memories flow.

So to all the Cardinals out there, “Chirp Chirp”! We are still going strong after all these years. And from what I saw Saturday, our future is in good hands with this group of undergrads. They love our school and will carry on traditions that were started so many years ago!