We all chose Virginia Tech for one reason or another; and after being a student at Virginia Tech for almost two years, I've come to understand that a Hokie is more than just a mascot. There's this feeling we all get when we step on campus; a feeling that's incredibly hard to describe yet tells us we are indeed a Hokie.

Maybe it's the campus.

Our campus is placed in the middle of the mountains. Yes, it's a small town in the middle of nowhere, but that's the best part about it. It makes sunrises and sunsets that much more beautiful. No city lights, just the mountains. And when the snow falls in the winter, the beauty of the drillfield blanketed white makes the bitter cold weather worth it.

Maybe it's Hokie football.

Although our team has been in a slump these past few years, there is no greater feeling than starting off your weekend with a good workout to Enter Sandman. To see the entire stadium flooded with orange and maroon jumping up and down to welcome our Hokie team into Lane sends chills through our bodies. Whether you're a football fanatic or not, you can't leave your first home football game as a student without thinking that it was a life-changing experience.

Maybe it's history.

Our school is one of the only schools that fully embraces our traditions and takes them to heart. From the Flaming VT and the Game Ball Run during Homecoming week to the beloved Ring Tradition during junior year, we find ourselves understanding the history of our school with each tradition that passes We grow closer to the history of this great university and it becomes something that we never want to let go of.

Maybe it's the service.

Our students live by our school mottoUt Prosim - That I May Serve. As a university, we participate in one of the largest community service days known as The Big Event. As a university, we host one of the largest Relay For Life events in the nation. As a university, we understand what it means to give back to our community. Whether it's through fundraising, yard work, or simply giving a stranger directions, we as a university live to serve.

Maybe it's the people.

The students, faculty, and even townies in the Blacksburg area are some of the nicest people you'll ever encounter. We hold doors for people who are several feet behind us. We ask strangers how they're doing in passing. But one of the things that we're best at is being a community. When one Hokie encounters a tragedy, we all come together and stand by them. Whether we know them or not, we offer them support and love. We show them that they aren't in this alone. As a school and a community, we've embraced enough hardship to understand what it means to be united and we each hold onto that meaning.

It's difficult to describe what makes this school so incredible. We become adopted into this huge family that can feel so small at times, but is our family nonetheless. We're given opportunities to better ourselves academically, culturally, and socially each and every day.

Being a Hokie is embodying all the hard times and the good times at Virginia Tech. Being a Hokie is encompassing everything from our school motto, Ut Prosim, to traditions that date back to 1872. Being a Hokie is accepting all the imperfections of this school and never being ashamed to call it our home.

And I can guarantee you, 110 percent, there is nothing better than being a Hokie.