A Baylor Baby, from Day One!
I remember being in elementary school and watching the clock, because I knew I could leave that Friday at 2 p.m. The day always dragged on and on. But finally it would come, and we'd make our way down to Waco. I couldn't wait to see my cousins, visit the Bears, and watch the parade.
When we were really young, our parents dropped us off at an older lady's home while they went to the football game. I always hated that part, because she made us take naps, and I'm pretty sure she smoked. But we did always get to make homemade play dough, which was kind of cool. Isn't it funny the things we remember?? (And my mom will be quick to point out that she was a nice reputable lady, and we had a connection to her from a church in Waco. She was not random. I was not mistreated. Just sayin'.) :-)
As I got older, I was "allowed" to do more. I always liked this best (of course!). Friday night was always Pigskin and then the huge Bonfire. Saturday was the parade, football came, lunch at Fuddruckers, and then hanging out at the First Baptist Church gym with our Baylor Summer Bunch friends. Sunday morning we'd eat breakfast at Penland, one of the dorms on campus. (Making waffles in the waffle iron was a definite highlight.) As you can see, there's a lot of tradition.
Now that I'm an alum and have college friends of my own to see, it's a bit of a challenge for me to change my plans from what I'm "used to." But this is the time for making new traditions with my new(er) friends, and still keeping in touch with the old ones. That's the beauty of coming home: it's familiar, but never quite the same.
{Homecoming 2010 with old roomies at the Bonfire}
My parents met at Baylor, so that's why we originally started going to Homecoming in the first place. When it came time for me to start looking at schools, my Dad
The following weekend, I went down to Waco with my best friend from High School, Sarah. She'd never been before, and they had a Preview weekend for potential students. At the time, I didn't know that extending this invitation to her would change the course of her life, but she loved Baylor as much as I did, and later told me it was that weekend that we went that helped make her decision. (I think it was a good one!)
{Baylor, February 2004 with Sarah in front of the Business School.
Ironically, neither of us majored in business!}
I've always loved this picture we took that weekend. I felt so much older than my 17-year-old self. I remember getting to campus, and for the first time, I was there without my parents. It was the beginning of "my turn" at Baylor. I could feel it. When I look at this picture and think of this weekend, I remember feeling a sense of confidence, of feeling that I belonged, of feeling beautiful--on the inside. It was a new and exciting time for me, and I enjoyed my senior year of high school knowing that I was going to a place that was familiar but also held so many unknown adventures. I couldn't wait.
{Baylor Homecoming 2010--our first as alums!}
And here we are, six years later. I'll fill in the gaps of what happened between the two photos later this week. Sic'em Bears!
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