poem 13.couldn't think of a more fitting time to write something
to/for my babies.
impossible: to the class of 2013.
to my children. all 83 of yall.
as much as nate and i have done our best
to shower you with knowledge and wisdom
of our collective experience at vanderbilt
there are some things that
unless you've been here before
are impossible to understand.
there's something about college,
my college,
his college,
your college, especially,
that challenges your definition of
impossible
right now it might seem impossible
to write two 20 page papers in an 18 hour span
no napping, surviving solely on naked juice,
muffins, and caramel macchiatos
turn them in, turn around
put the freakem dress on and party with the crew
like its 1999
even though you haven't slept in two days
and it might seem impossible
to get to a poppin party in antioch
on a dry saturday night
when you have no car, no friends with a car,
and no cabfare
but with a will, a way,
some sketchy dudes with a van traveling down I-40
and a few quick prayers
you'll be eating at the waffle house reminiscing in
no time
nothing is impossible because
vandy kids
don't
quit.
we are creative.
even if you can't swipe into a towers 2 suite,
there are literally 200 other illegal ways to get up.
and when you inevitably oversleep a test
you studied all night for, a little
bargaining and begging will get you
a second chance.
and when you are trying your damnedest
to get to the dorm but the vandy van driver
insists on taking the long route
faking drunken insanity will get you
dropped off at your doorstep
you are running headfirst into
the gateway of 'the best years of your life'
its lame and cliche but so sincere
there will be nights you'll swear you need
a camera crew to follow you
and there will be nights you won't remember
unless a camera crew was following you
there will be those study sessions with that
cute dude or chick in your econ class
that'll make you never late for econ again
and there will be those study sessions with classmates
when you don't even crack a page of the text
but you learned more than those pages could offer
and yet
there will also be those days that you wish
you could rewind time back to high school
when shit was simple and placid
and there will be those test grades that will
absolutely break your heart and you'll find
the life you planned out for yourself might
have to submit to an unexpected plot twist
and there will be those nights that the person
you were peepin at the party is cuddled up
with a muchhh wacker version of you and you're hurt
and there will even be those days
that nothing seems to add up anymore
you'll cry home to your parents
ready to pack your bags and start again
somewhere new
but you probably won't. because
vandy kids are tough.
despite the drama and the bullshit
i have endured the past three years
despite the tears ive shed and dreams deferred
i'm tougher because of it and
i've grown like a rogue weed. its
crazy. the friends i came in with are
my family. i'm convinced we have the same genes
in our systems and you'll feel the same way
about your crew too. at your first game you'll be
convinced you do indeed bleed black and gold
and you will start talking shit to anyone
wearing that obnoxious UT orange.
you'll start living off of chilis and tgifridays
no need for a menu, its memorized,
and you'll go to cafe coco when you want to
decompress and philosophize. you'll learn
when is the perfect time to make a grand entrance
at a party and you'll figure out the quickest
route possible to get from commons to buttrick
when you wake up late [8 minutes, if u slightly jog]
you'll do all these things and much much more.
and eventually you won't need to text
nate and i for questions about housing
you'll be hitting us up letting us know
where the party is at for the night
[thanks for lookin out, in advance]
and eventually, you'll be sophomores
and juniors
and seniors
like me. and you'll be blessed and honored to mentor
"lil mothafuckas"
like you.
who'll look up to you and
for wisdom and guidance
and ask you
questions that can only be answered
with a semi embarrassing anecdote
a dissertation of an explanation
or sometimes, can't be answered at all.
some phenomena are simply
impossible to explain
and some phenomena you won't
believe it until you see it
and you won't see it until you breathe it
and like my co-chair so eloquently put
"i don’t believe
in letting kids open
Christmas gifts
before the
25th"
i don't either.
i can't wait to sit back and watch
with a content smile that an exhausted parent dons on
christmas morning
as you all unravel and unwrap the impossible
for yourselves
when you finally
arrive
