Reflecting on the college years is bittersweet

“Your Life. Our Entertainment.”

That was the catchphrase for frogmylife.com, a website I created my sophomore year. Frogmylife was really just a fun little project that was part of a larger conglomerate of sites that made up Hubba-U. I had been talked into contributing to “The Hubba” by alumnus Mike Vosters, a social media guru and hustler extraordinaire. Some of you graduating seniors might recognize him as the brain trust behind “TNA” our freshman year, or Thursday Night Alternative.

Mike went on to become a top-50 finalist for Charlie Sheen’s internship contest and does cool advertising in New York City. Fun guy.

But what the phrase above really encapsulates is the sentiment with which Mike left me after he graduated last year — the whole “I hope you don’t take it too seriously.” At the time I had some vague, fuzzy notion of what he meant but was too busy staring down my sights on various internship opportunities and full-time job offers. Pretty much everything, it seemed, was meant to be taken seriously.

Two weeks out from graduation, though, and it is bittersweet to recognize that the things I will be missing most are not the things that are serious at all. Jobs, internships and late-night study sessions with Mary Couts fade away when I think about what really captures my college experience: my friends.

People say these years are the best of your life. While I am an eternal optimist, it is hard to disagree with them. I never will forget the trip we took to Pasadena to see TCU beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

I will always remember the spontaneous camping trips we took to get away from school work and kill some time hiking, fishing and hanging out. And how can I forget the legendary four days we spent in Las Vegas during our last Spring Break?

When I think back to my college experience, the memories I remember most are the ones that stand out for being wild, crazy, spontaneous and fun. They were adventures. And in each of those memories, I had a friend standing there right beside me. If I learned anything during my time at TCU (and really, we all learned a lot), the things that stand out the most are the people I met and the friends I made while I was here.

We have all shaken a lot of hands and met a lot of people, but the group of friends we take away with us from graduation is the testament we hold onto when we reflect on what makes TCU such a great community. The past four years have been an adventure, and I could not have asked for better traveling companions.

So David, Brett, Dalton, Nathan, Nick and all the rest of you guys who have made my college experience so memorable, this one is for you.

Brandon Corcoran is a senior accounting major from Arlington.