Two years ago I was sitting on my couch at home, pajamas on and full attention set to the TV screen in front of me.
My Mom and Dad were sitting next to me, and my dog was curled up at my feet. My heart rate was out of control as my sweaty palms nervously gripped the edge of my seat. Having been accepted already into 3 of my top colleges, most people would say I was living the easy and carefree “senioritis” life.
That night when ESPN came on with the live broadcast of basketball, however, the relaxation of senior year was far from my mind. As the UNC and Villanova teams ran onto the court, there was a lot more riding on who won that game than just declaring a new National Champion.
It was only about a day after that victory in 2016 that I realized what all of those nerves and extreme anxiety coursing through me during the game had meant - I had finally made my college decision. Last week, exactly two years after that fateful night of the 2016 NCAA National Championship game, I stood in the center of Villanova’s campus at the Oreo.
I was surrounded by my best friends, cheering on my team in yet another Villanova championship win. Running through the quad past my bedroom window, I realized how lucky I was to call this place my home. Being a Villanova basketball fan is a great feeling, especially in March during the tournament, and especially in the process and aftermath of winning a National Championship. However, being a part of Nova Nation is a whole sentiment completely in itself.
Realizing that every hour spent at Wells Fargo games, every dollar spent on gas money driving up to Boston, and every V-sticker thrown in the trash, somehow led you to that moment, is a magical feeling. Standing out there on the Oreo the other night, running through the Quad, and storming Lancaster Avenue, are all things that I will never forget doing. But the thing that made that moment so special was all of the emotions that were poured into it, the emotions as I thought about every step that had brought me to that night, and the emotions that will stick with me for the rest of my Villanova experience and beyond.
