Why I LOVE The Georgia Institute of Technology

I’m a Ramblin’ Wreck

Settled in my spot on the CULC roof top garden facing the skyline of Atlanta, I pulled out my Chemistry 1212k textbook. I began to flip though the pages not actually reading anything while sipping on my grande coffee that I waited thirty minutes for. I soon realized I was not actually going to get any work done, but then I realized something else. It is dead week and I couldn’t be sadder. I’m not sad because I have three finals next week or because I now have stiches in my knee or because I’m sitting alone; I’m sad because the year is almost over and I have to leave this place for a whole three months. Don’t get me wrong Europe is going to be fabulous, but I truly am going to miss this campus, this city, and these people surrounding me every day. Not seeing the Wreck driving around school, not having an entire student body full of motivated people to meet, not feeling silly saying my dream in life is to be Buzz, not being touched by this school’s love and encouragement really makes me feel depressed.

When I came to Tech, I had a plan. I would graduate in four years with a Biology degree, be president of a few clubs, make a couple of friends for the time being, and be out. I quickly realized my “brilliant”, “forward thinking” plan was going to be dumped never return again. The incredible people that fill this campus astounded me. Everyone I met seemed to be saving the world in their own little, big, or ginormous way. My simple straightforward plan seemed so modest in comparison to my friends’ dreams of running Google, empowering women around the world to pursue education, or building a fully functional humanoid. I learned that I do not have to limit my dreams to the realm of what seems possible at the moment, and instead I can let my imagination run wild and come up with such an outrageous dream that it might actually be possible. So I did, and everyone around me said, “Yes!” followed by “How can I help? How can I support you? How can I help you get there?” No one looked at me with those crazy eyes saying why would you want to do that, or that’s just ridiculous and obviously impossible. The people here are dreamers, and they want the people around them to dream as well.

After completely disregarding my set plan, changing my major four times, and doing every stupid thing a college freshmen could do, I began to look back at my time in this place. I have never experienced a moment of boredom, a moment of homesickness, or a moment of unhappiness because of Georgia Tech. My time at Tech has been the greatest year of my life thus far, and I’m sure very few experiences will ever come close to comparing to it. I’m now becoming afraid that I will never find a husband I can love more than I love this school. When people complain about its rigor, I only see people laughing, chatting, playing, enjoying life and say you will be thankful for this place one day. Georgia Tech is hard for a reason. It pushes us to our limits, shows us how much we can accomplish, challenges us to be better people and teaches us the value of perseverance. I have really learned to live by the motto: you can sleep later. I think my brain, my social skills, my leadership, my attitudes, and my passions have all been tested here, and to fully reap the benefits of this school I have to give it all I’ve got. You get what you put in here… literally. You can’t expect an A with out being excellent, you can’t expect to get into a club because of some award you won, you can’t kick your feet back and expect friends to just appear. You have to work for it. Georgia Tech instills the value of hard work deep into our core, and we will be successful in life because of it later on.

I love how hard Tech pushes me. I love the feeling of being stretched to my limits, but I also enjoy having a life. I think the struggle stemming from maintaining that balance of work and play is where the negativity that sometimes fills the air stems from. It’s hard to work when you know there’s fun being had with out you. We look at our friends at other schools who seem to be out every night and never doing schoolwork, and jealousy begins to creep into our thoughts. We feel like were missing out on a part of the college experience when in fact we are simply getting it in another form. Have you ever seen college students up at 6am on a Saturday to run for cake or a tricycle race that half of campus shows up to? I have never heard of a school loving their mascot more than we love the Wreck and Buzz or students showing up in groves to hear Neil Degrasse or watch an invention competition. No other school has the traditions, the spirit, the history or the pride that we have. We are perched high above the rest.

We are unique and eccentric. We all are nerds; if you don’t think you are then you may need to reevaluate your life a bit. I have never seen a place with more beautiful women in an intro-engineering course or more people excited about an astrophysicist. People here know things, can teach things and their knowledge will change the world. I can guarantee it. People here are outrageously smart, yet incredibly interesting at the same time. We will always be the nerds, but the nerds will inherit the earth.

I love Georgia Tech. I love the work, the nerdiness, Tech green, Bobby Dodd, the CULC, the Starbucks line, the whistle, the football, the losses, the wins, the awards, the smiles, the welcomes, the traditions, Sideways the dog, the songs, the classes, Up with the White and Gold, To HELL with Georgia, Buzz, the Wreck, and most importantly the people. I could list out every detail I love about Tech, but they all stem from the people. The students, the faculty, the staff, and the alumni. This school would not be here if it wasn’t for the people. There would be no buildings, there would be no spirit, there would be no dreams, there would be no innovation, and there would be no Georgia Tech without the people. I love this school more than I will ever know and will continue to come up with reasons why. I will always be proud when I say I’m a Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech.