About a hundred years ago, when I was in high school and considering the almost unthinkable thing in my family - going to college - Michigan State University was where I wanted to go. For some reason they never shared with me, my parents told me I had to stay home and start at our local community college. I don't know if they couldn't afford it, if they thought I was too immature to go away to school, or they didn't think I was smart enough to succeed - or a combination of all three.
All I know is that I went to community college and did very well there, but when it was time to transfer to a 4-year university, I bypassed Michigan State and chose a smaller state university instead because it wasn't so overwhelming. Despite doing well at my chosen school, I have regretted my decision ever since.
Part of it was that my best friend from high school, Janice, went to Michigan State as a freshman and I thought she had a snooty attitude about it while I was tolling away in the "rinky-dink" community college - working and trying to save as much as I could and proving to my parents that I was worthy of making the jump to a university.
But a big part of it was that I really was afraid to go to that big school where I thought everyone else in my class would have had a two-year head start on me. I regret that I wasn't braver and far more confident.
So, I was very proud when our daughter decided that she could manage Michigan State from the start and probably over the last four years I have taken a bit too much pride in telling just about everyone I ran across that our daughter was at Michigan State. But it is something to be proud of! She did very well. She's going to be a special education teacher.
She's never going to "bleed green and white" as so many MSU graduates seem to do for the rest of their lives - and I probably wouldn't have done that either. But it was thrilling to see her in her graduation gown and that graduation weekend will be a time I'll never forget.
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