Weekend Wanderings: Visiting My College Town as an Adult

Happy Saturday readers, we have all made it through another week. I hope that you enjoyed my College Fjord adventure earlier this week. Don’t worry, we will journey back to Alaska next post but for now: Canyon, Texas.

The second weekend of October I visited the Amarillo/Canyon part of the Panhandle of Texas. Homecoming 2017 for West Texas A&M University – where both my boyfriend and I are alumni. We weren’t the only two out of our group of friends that were in town. Our excuse was Homecoming but it was really just a convenient time for us all to meet up and see each other.

There are also, a large number of people in our group of friends that grew up in the Panhandle, they have never really gone far from home. Some have move a good distance away and come back again. I can’t talk much though, I moved away for college and moved back home after I graduated. Going back to visit WT is strange and comforting at the same time. So many things are the same: the campus, the wind, the people to a point. But none of us are in school any longer. We have to schedule meeting up around work schedules instead of class.  Many favorite professors are still there but some aren’t for various reasons and it is strange seeing places we once knew them, in knowing that their classes at WT are over. Professors move on to bigger and better things just as their students.

One thing that I have found that I love about my WT professors is that even after graduation they are still friends and mentors to their past students. Other institutes of higher learning can probably claim this too but I can’t name any. While visiting Canyon for Homecoming my close group of English majors and I had the opportunity to chat with our HEL (History of the English Language) professor, Dr. J. This is the same professor that seized his chance and taught a class called: Heavy Metal as a Literary Genre. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to take it but when I got to sit in on the class it was fantastic.

I have always loved to write thus I decided to join the university newspaper my junior year of college, The Prairie. I know that I’m not a great reporter. I learned trial by fire and I know that is not the best way. However, I learned, in part because of the wonderful staff and in part due to our great faculty advisor, Dr. Cain. He has since moved to the University of North Alabama as the communications department head. Those students gained an awesome professors.

WT has many other wonderful professors that truly want their students to succeed. We made Mrs. Dr. Hart a “Not Cool Robert Frost” t-shirt and if you haven’t seen that Kid President video – watch it after you are finished reading this. Her reaction was the best thing ever and you can watch it here. Part of me misses college but at the same time I don’t miss being broke and pulling all nighters because I’ve got three papers due in two days and I’ve been procrastinating. Of course the 9 to 5 grind has its own drawbacks.

Life takes us all a number of places. Mine has given me the opportunity to go to a great university and to visit there as an alumni. It’s kind of cool getting to go to the alumni tailgate. The beer maybe lite but at least it is free and the food is good. WT introduced me to a great number of wonderful people and through them I meet more all the time.

Sunset pictures that I took instead of watching the WTAMU homecoming game. It was a fantastic sunset.