Reposting from my social media, cause FOFC lived through the last four years right along with me.
-----------------
Well, looks like have ourselves a college graduate.
In the comments below my post, I'm going to share my wife's eloquent and emotional summary from earlier. I already knew everything she says and it still managed to make me tear up a bit, so I'll leave that part to her cause I surely can't top it.
Most of you reading this were here when I was a lost Dad reading his weekly dining hall menus trying to get my head around the kid being gone off to another time zone. And you lived through the aftermath of the first Christmas break departure, which I think might have even been worse than the day he left in the fall. I learned that those don't ever suck less, you just get more accustomed to dealing with it.
And somehow, four years later, he we are. We, the parents, survived.
The young 'un? He didn't survive. He thrived, soared, excelled.
The gamut of experiences was run, some lows, some highs, and some days just staying the course. I'm sorry beyond description that it ended so anti-climatically but, in his life, "normal" has often been something other people do anyway.
I'm proud of all he's accomplished and all he's done but, as always, I remain even prouder of who he is.
Congratulations Will, well earned.
I'm also going to indulgently share the post my wife made that I mentioned too. As I told her, I already knew all the stuff she said and it
still made me tear up.
Quote:
Facebook Friends, Today would have been a day of photos of Will in all his graduation regalia with all the awards he won...I do not get to share that and let him see how very proud of him I am. So, I am going to do it now in a virtual post...So again forgive this poor ole Mom.....He is the light of my entire world.
Well, Will. I think you accomplished everything you wanted to do when you stepped on the Ole Miss campus on that hot Orientation Day in June 2016. You joined a fraternity, were elected their Secretary and the National liked you so much they named you one of three collegians interns for their national convention. The National Fraternity named you as a International Scholar and also selected you as top 1% of all brothers in the country. You were President of 3 organizations, Secretary of another 2 organizations (one which was named most Outstanding Organization on campus) and Treasurer of one more. You received 9 different academic and leadership scholarships to help fund this adventure (which made your Mother very happy LOL!). You set out to get into Ole Miss Honors College--which you did--and you stayed there (which many do not). You did a drop dead thesis about those Irish soldiers (even if you did have to defend on Zoom instead of in-person!). You made Ole Miss Who's Who--a great achievement even if you didn't get the ceremony. You had enough medals and tassels that you achieved to weigh you down in the Grove today. Your diploma is going to show your academic honors. And above all I know you made some really good lifelong friends and made some fun, crazy and possibly at times sad lifelong memories--So Hotty Toddy--I love you and I am so, so proud of you, my boy
|