Life Moves Pretty Fast

Alec Heger
Kappa Sigma

The older I get, the more I continue to see even older and older eras of music progressively making their way into my iTunes library. Why is this? Is it the worry mode kicking in from realizing I have a little more than two years left of my adolescence? Is it knowing that I’m almost going to be on my own as an adult in the real world, competing against other college grads to find a starting job? Being a college kid in 2012 has its perks, such as availability of all the new technological gadgets one could ever imagine, but I’ve always wondered why I continue to watch old movies on VHS instead of Blu-Ray and listen to “golden oldies” such as the Beatles, Jimi and Led Zeppelin instead of the latest and greatest artists.

I think this has a lot to do with reminiscing on my childhood, and longing for the past; a tactic that stems from realizing that we’re all growing up way too fast, and in my case, freaking out about what the future holds. As Matthew Broderick in Ferris Bueller's Day Off once put it: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." This being said, there is one thing that those who read this may relate to, and that is appreciating the importance of history and tradition in Greek chapter houses. 

I always talk with my friends that growing up in the '90s is probably the best thing that ever happened to me. No one else had Nintendo 64, VHS, and Disney channel movies to boast about before. The '90s were an innovation decade, the one that definitely influenced my procrastination abilities at an early age. With innovation in technology came favorite video games and musical artists that never seemed to get old. I’ve noticed that growing up in the '90s threw me a wonderful array of music choices to choose from and have thus pinpointed my favorite artists as Blink 182, Third Eye Blind, Matchbox Twenty and Red Hot Chili Peppers. I’m sure many kids that grew up in our era wouldn’t disagree that they loved jamming to the new Blink CD on their Walkmans before school and sporting events, or watching The Mighty Ducks over and over again until you knew the lines by heart.

As much as I’m into moving on to bigger and better things and new chapters in my life, I can’t seem to let nostalgic past times ever go mainly because the past is what I know and am comfortable with and the future is something that is out of reach and frustratingly invisible, especially for us college students, fretting about what will come next.

Being a member of the Greek community teaches fraternity and sorority men and women around the country to gain knowledge about what’s to come next and maintain morals of the generations that walked through their respective houses years and years before we did. In essence, this appreciation and longing for the past and traditions that expand back many years, speaks a lot about the general attitude of growing up and getting butterflies about what to expect in the future. Contrary to popular belief, Greek life is a lot about brotherhood and sisterhood based on nostalgic attitudes. Walking through a local chapter’s house, especially at UT can give you sheer familiarity to a house’s traditions due to the local color and history that has been embedded progressively year after year. The rows and rows of composites and outdated hairstyles on the walls and the old fraternity newsletters that one might find laying around the chapter room explain an appreciation for the ones who walked through those doors before us and cultural icons such as musical artists, movies, etc. that used to be the hits of previous decades. 

This longing for the past so prevalent in pretty much any Greek chapter house you walk into can be explained by the commonality of society remembering the good times, forgetting the bad times, and pondering about future endeavors.

Alec is a sophomore and is still looking for a major. You may contact him at goal_scorer9@yahoo.com.