Being a native to College Station and third generation Aggie, I grew up assuming everybody else outside of Aggieland was as just a crazy as we are, bleeding maroon and stealing strange folks' cows. Oops, I mean mascots. Though, as I have grown older and am now a student at Texas A&M University, I have found that there is something so distinguishable, so unique, and so powerful about a college that reaches far beyond an exam grade or degree. Texas A&M has unbeatable pride and tradition that is unexplainable to the outside, and I can safely say that here is where my life has changed forever.

This April 21, I was able to attend my first Aggie Muster as a student, which sent goosebumps down my spine. An eerie yet warm glow filled the air. And though we had lost many fellow Aggies, we were united and gathering to remember the incredible and timeless memories of every student and alumni who had passed away. These stories and traditions are what unite over 60,000 current students along with the many who have passed through College Station in their lifetime, which just the thought of settles me in a strange peace.

I found conciliation in the fact that the tradition of Muster will be carried on endlessly through the years of future students to come, and that I too will be able to light a candle and answer "here" for my own grandparents and parents, then eventually, someone will do the same for me.

As Eddie J. Davis spoke of his dear friend who served in Vietnam who could see that his time would come to an end much to soon due to war, he felt that same great peace that many of us Aggies do today. This friend understood that he had lived a full life even though he would never live to see the day of settling down or starting a family. Instead of settling for morbidity, he let peace wash over him because, "All [he] ever wanted to be was an Aggie," which is exactly what he was.

I began to relive each and every memory of my first year of college, just smiling at the memories I would not trade for a lifetime. Whether good or bad, this place and these moments have grown me and I would not trade it for the world.

So, I hope you recognize just how lucky you are to be at A&M; living, breathing, and walking from class to class. I hope that you value the sacred traditions and the spirit that can ne'er be told in dear old Aggieland. These short four years of college will be some of the best times of your life so I hope you sing the Aggie War Hymn at the top of your lungs at any chance you get. I hope you kiss that Cadet on Kyle Field during touch downs and Midnight Yell, and I hope that you still get giddy every time Miss Reville is in your presence. Last of all, I hope that you too, exclaim, "All I ever wanted to be is an Aggie," so that when your time comes too, the traditions and stories will live on and we will dutifully answer, "here".

"No matter who you are, no matter how much you participated, or no matter what you did at Texas A&M, you are always going to be remembered on April 21st."

-Rusty Thompson, Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 1985