Carol Came Back

October 25, 2009 - 7:50 PM

Today, my dad brought his girlfriend to visit the University of Oregon. They both attended during the late 60s and early 70s, and my dad has come back to his alma mater on a regular basis since he graduated. He has come to see the Ducks play and his daughter learn. But Carol hasn't.

When Carol left the University, she never looked back. Her daughter went to Southern Oregon and her son stayed in Portland. So, since they started dating more than a year ago, I have been trying to get her to come visit her old stomping grounds.

However, when she looked around the campus that she used to call her own, she didn't feel nostalgia, nor did she recognize the surroundings.

"I could be at any campus across the country," she said while we were in the EMU.

But I have never heard anyone refer to the U of O this way. Growing up, all I heard were glorious tales and censored college stories while my parents threw Duck football games. They and their friends would gather around the TV and discuss all of the great times they had at the U of O.

For me, the campus here will always have a golden place in my heart. I haven't even graduated yet, and I walk down the paths that lead from building to building and feel a deep connection and intimacy with my surroundings. I breathe in all that I am learning, both in the classroom and out. I think about my day's victories and its failures, and I look around to see the trees and the buildings congratulating me and consoling me along the way.

I love this campus. I will never forget these feelings of warmth (despite the rain) and the memories that I have created during my time here.

It was sad to see that Carol didn't connect with the campus the way I do, but maybe she will have a new association with it-one that signifies her connection with my dad and I.