Clemson: A Reflection...

Jul 31, 2006, 1:48 AM

As I sit here in the clubhouse of my new apartment complex in Duluth, GA, I can't help but think about Clemson. I am still searching day and night for my place in this world; and with each new day more confusion sets in. But there is one certainty in my life...that Clemson University has changed me completely. As I reflect back on the years spent in the classrooms, the stadiums, and the sidewalks, it stirs memories of a fondness that will never be matched. At the drop of a hat, I can remember even the simplest moments - the ones that truly change a man.

There are simply too many memories to even begin to type them all. If I think hard, I can remember specific days when a class or a walk with a friend built the foundation of my existence. I didn't know it then, but the clarity is uncanny now. If I only knew then what I know today; if I could only do it again knowing what I know now. But wait. Would that make the experience any more valid? Would it make the discovery and the wonder any more exciting? I don't think so.

The Clemson experience is different for all of us; but the one resounding attribute we all share is that we allowed Clemson to become a part of us. Its not just an Alma Mater. Its not just a fall Saturday with 80,000 of our closest friends. Its not just a warm spring breeze blowing over Tiger Field. Its not a summer of football and frisbee on Bowman Field. Its a totally life-altering, ground shaking occurrence. Plain and simple...Clemson changes you. And believe me, it is all for the better.

Today is my first full day away from Clemson. Its been trying for my girlfriend and I. The excitement of new jobs and new homes and new friends can be overwhelming. But there is a undeniable sadness in our hearts. Thoughts race through our minds: "I'll never walk those grounds as a student again," "I'll wont 'live' in Clemson for the foreseeable future," "Will I forget about Clemson; will Clemson forget about me?" And I can tell you with every drop of honesty in my orange blood...Clemson will NEVER leave me..even though I have left her.

I don't think a day will go by that I don't look at pictures of old friends, or check out Tigernet to see what's up with our Athletics, or look up at my diploma on the wall. I don't think it is possible to forget about Clemson. Clemson has made me the man I am today; I will be forever grateful. And though I know my life will undoubtedly get in the way, I will always come back to that foothills of South Carolina, where the Blue Ridge yawns it greatness, where the Tigers play.

Clemson is a special place. You can try all you want, but you will never be able to explain that to outsiders...they will NEVER understand.

You just can't write a reflection without referencing the single greatest literary contribution to this world...Joe Sherman's "Something in These Hills"

Where is the generation gap when an alumnus who spent four years in these hills before the turn of the century says, "Next to my church and my home, I love Clemson University beyond all other institutions this side of heaven" and when a graduate-to-be says, "Excepting only my parents, Clemson has meant more to me and done more for me than anything that has touched my life."

Solid Orange gents...it ain't gettin' any better than this. Men have searched generations for Heaven; and its been here all along.

So, goodbye and goodnight Clemson. I promise I will make you proud.

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It was about 10 years ago (May 1996) that I too left heaven and moved into Woodmere Trace apartments in Duluth GA starting my first "real job" after 5 of the best years of my life in Clemson....

Those 10 years have brought to me many wonderful things... beautiful wife, amazing 5 year old daughter, two excellent engineering jobs, a 5 year stay in the wonderful state of Oregon, finally a job transfer back to South Carolina (even if i now work in the heart of Cootville)....

As great as it is being back east, the journey will not be complete until The first Saturday in September...
got myself a stack of tickets to the game...
friends and family eager to make the pilgrimage with me...
Tailgating plans that began in June....
doesnt get a whole lot better than that...
well.... #5 in a row over the coots and working in Columbia <-- there is a chance it could get just a little bit better!

A couple of game day memories that really stick out in my head (there are so many glorious memories of Clemson, but these are just a few from my past gamedays in heaven)

Shooting pool for beers at the esso club on game day mornings... if you know how to play those "greens", you could drink all morning off the outsiders

Visiting "old" friends and family members who are tailgating in their same family spots for so many years...

Stopping to have a beer and a bite with "new friends" that you have never met just because... well just because....

"25 most exciting seconds in college football" -- TV has never managed to do that justice....

Stop me now... is it gametime yet???? Bring on the game!

Clemson: A Reflection...

Nice post, Joe.

Thanks.

Re: Clemson: A Reflection...

Re: Clemson: A Reflection...

What are you doing in Duluth? I moved to Athens

Re: Clemson: A Reflection...

Re: Clemson: A Reflection...

Dayum, yer gon' make me bust out a cryin'.***

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