Friday, November 30, 2001

Experiences are worth keeping
Survey sparks some reflection about the last four years
By Chris Gibson
Skiff Staff

As another chapter of my life comes to an end it’s hard to resist the temptation of examining the impact of the last four years.

After a period of somewhat blurry reflection, I have come to this conclusion; I will leave here with everything, I will leave here with nothing.

There is no better way to describe my time here at TCU than those words.

My time here at TCU can’t and shouldn’t be measured in grade point average or popularity. My college experience has been so much more.

One catalyst to that reflection was a survey generated by the university and aimed at graduating seniors. Surveys like this are typical of colleges hoping to gauge the success of their programs and evaluate the overall image of the school.

Like an instructor evaluation in spring, I was breezing through the survey when I came across this one question.

“If you had it to do all over again, would you still choose TCU?”

Admittedly I sometimes wonder if my life would be different if I had chosen another school. I wonder if the same attributes that once lead me here ultimately held me down.

As a native Texan I wanted to be close to home. I felt safe joining a community of students who, with a few exceptions, were just like me. And, being from Dallas, I enjoyed the laid back lifestyle that Fort Worth seemed offer.

I still enjoy being close to my family, sometimes, yet I feel I have missed out on the diversity so perfectly portrayed on every admissions brochure. As for the Cowtown lifestyle, anyone who has ever been asked the old Thursday night question, “Where do you want to go tonight,” can answer that on their own.

But are these the types of questions an 18-year-old was really hoping a college could answer? I doubt it.

Maybe learning that takes more than just enrolling in a school and going to class to learn is part of the college experience.

I’ve met a lot of friends here at TCU, some I will keep in touch with, most I will not. But one thing that I have learned is the friends you will take with you are the ones who truly know you.

I don’t know how many people truly know me. I suspect not many. Maybe that was my intention. It’s hard to open up to people you spend most of your time trying to impress.

What TCU has taught me is that the skills you need to survive in this world don’t all come in a book or as part of a lecture.

I would hope that as I turn the page on this chapter, this book, like most I’ve read throughout college, still has a long way to go before it’s finished.

Robert F. Kennedy once said, “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."

As I look back, I’m content with my time spent on campus. I look forward to a relationship with TCU in the future and I’m excited about the opportunities that this university has provided.

Would I choose TCU again?

Probably not. But I wouldn’t trade my experiences here for anything. I have learned that life is what you make of it. If you choose to be shut out, you will. If you choose to stay in the background, you will. If you choose to make a difference, you can.

Graduating senior Chris Gibson is a broadcast journalism major from Mesquite.
He can be contacted at (c.j.gibson@student.tcu.edu).