Just Do It

Megan Samuels
Alpha Gamma Delta

Winter break proved once again to be a bit too short, and suddenly it’s back to the books for one long semester before summertime. But I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that IU basketball has made coming back to school a little, (or a lot), less painful than it could be. So in case you need a refresher, here is one more look back to that amazing night that changed it all, because let’s be real, it never gets old. 

If you didn’t know any better, the scene at Assembly Hall that night looked like something we had only seen in photos during Bob Knight’s infamous reign. A sold-out arena with screaming fans decked out in red, and a hunger to seriously destroy the Wildcats. If you weren’t at the game, you had no intention of doing anything but staring at that TV for the next two hours.

Wherever you were, when you saw that final pass to Watford, you held your breath and said a prayer. After that you either stormed the court with more pride than you could ever imagine you had in IU, or screamed at your television with disbelief and high-fived whoever was sitting next to you.

After relishing in the undeniable glow of being a Hoosier at that moment in time, and of course after tweeting a ridiculous amount of Hoosier pride and #iubbs, you went to Kirkwood. It was the sweetest moment of your college career, and there would never be any other moment that would replace it. This is why you came to IU.

Wow. No Christmas or Hanukkah gift could come close to that pre-finals piece of heaven.

That being said, I am about to admit something that I will probably never come to terms with. I didn’t go to that game. I didn’t storm Kirkwood, either. No, I chose to watch the game from my house while I worked on a paper. Yes, I know. I’m an idiot.

But the point of revealing myself as maybe the ONLY IU student that did not participate in that night in some way was not for my own embarrassment, but to offer a challenge. Call it a New Year's resolution, a goal, whatever; I have one. Do everything. Simple, right? But, seriously. My college experience won’t ever be summed up by the amount of credits I’ve taken, that C I took in Econ, or all that work I put into a paper instead of going to the big game.

A moment like that Saturday night will forever haunt me as something I wasn’t a part of. The worst part is, I was here and didn’t go. I refuse to let another big moment pass me by, and I hope this serves as a lesson to the rest of you. IU is such a special place to be. I know I couldn’t have gotten this experience anywhere else. Everyone wanted to be a Hoosier that night. If we have those opportunities, there is no excuse for not grabbing them and then bragging about them!

So go to that big game and work on your paper tomorrow, buy tickets to that show and worry about the deficit in your bank account later, join your friends at the bar and tell yourself you’re irresponsible when you’re 30. DO EVERYTHING. Live it up! At the end of the day, IU is more than an education. It’s an experience. Make the most of it for 2012.

Welcome back, Hoosiers!

Megan is a senior studying journalism and communication & culture. You may contact her at megsamue@indiana.edu.