stories
the first time
It was my senior year in high school. I'd known that I wanted to go to the University of Alabama for practically all of my life. I'd just never been there.
Now, admittedly, there was a good part of me that wanted to come to the University based on what I'd seen on television on countless Saturday afternoons. I wasn't oblivious to Alabama football. But there were other reasons as well.
I was thinking of double majoring in computer science and business at the University. (I later found out that this was not allowed, which explains why I've had to stay here for six years to get a CS degree and an MBA.) I knew that the business school was very highly thought of. I also knew that the University's computer science school wasn't that bad either.
I think that the clincher, though, was that the University allowed me to test the waters of the "real world" while allowing me to get back to the shallow end quickly if I needed to. If I had gone off to college, I wouldn't have that luxury. Family being near was important to me then. It's even more so now.
It didn't hurt that the University was willing to pony up a decent amount of money for me to come there.
So early one Saturday spring morning, my mom, my sister, and I got in the car and made the 3½ hour trip from our hometown to Tuscaloosa. I remember thinking just how long a drive it was. We took the highway route.
We got into Tuscaloosa around 10 a.m. Our first stop was the Rose Administration Building. We got a campus map and took a look.
I remember having immediate second thoughts about coming here.
New schools have always started out intimidating to me. When I got to my high school for the first time, I wondered if I'd ever be able to figure out where everything was. Of course, being a senior, I'd long since mastered that. But here?
We weren't talking about a couple of buildings anymore. We were talking about a campus, a true campus of buildings. Would I ever be able to find my way around? Would I ever be able to find my way at all? We drove around some. I'd never seen so many one-way streets. My fears were starting to grow a little.
And then I saw it. Anyone who's made the annual pilgrimages to Tuscaloosa every fall knows what it is.
I had a landmark. Things were starting to fall into place.
We looked around at some of the residence halls, seeing which ones would be right for both my sister and me. We looked around at the campus a little bit more.
My mind was made up. I was coming here.