"Symbol Of Unity"

HOWDY!
 
My name is Anna Eubank '13, and I’m a telecommunications major from Dallas, Texas, but most importantly I’m receiving my Fightin’ Texas Aggie Ring on Sept. 14! I’m still pinching myself. Ever since I moved to Aggieland to start my college career, I’ve been waiting for this moment. Words really can’t convey my excitement, but I’ll try to find a few that come close.

My Story

I’m a third-generation Aggie. This is still a little difficult to wrap my head around. My dad, Dennis Eubank ’78, and grandfather, Ray Eubank ’48, attended Texas A&M and they aren’t the only Aggies in my family. I’m related to lots of Aggies. I decided to try and count my Aggie family members and came up with 10. There are actually more than that, but I ran out of fingers (the downfall of being a Liberal Arts major). My Ring is a bonding moment with all of them. It’s something that we’ll always have in common, besides seeing each other on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I’ll be the first to admit- I did not spend my childhood dreaming of becoming an Aggie. When it came time for me to apply to colleges, I had no idea what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go. Long story short, I
ended up in College Station, Texas. I guess you could say I was…gently persuaded by my family. I’m not complaining.

I joined the Texas A&M Women’s Chorus in the spring of my freshman year, and met an amazing group of friends who have the same passion for music as me. The rest, as they say, is history. I can’t believe that my
time in Aggieland is coming to an end in a year. My memories of A&M are some of the most meaningful I’ve had in my life. This is where I learned to grow as a student, an individual and a leader.

What’s the Big Deal?

Receiving my Ring is like finally getting to show off how hard I’ve worked at A&M.  It’s a symbol of the dedication and pride we have as Aggies. It’s a symbol of honor. It’s a symbol of unity. It’s a great conversation starter. It’s a bragging point. It’s a travel-sized scrapbook of college memories. It’s an inexplicable bond with former, present and future Aggies. It’s a great way to know who’s older than you on campus (hint hint, freshman). It’s also traffic-stopping shiny.

My Aggie Ring means that I’ve almost completed my time in Aggieland, and I’m pretty darn proud of my accomplishments here so far. It’s time for me to take on the real world where sleeping until noon is discouraged and eating Layne’s three times a day is actually considered unhealthy (this blew my mind, too).

Because I promised to use a few words to attempt to describe my feelings about Ring Day: I’m thrilled, ecstatic, jubilant, totally pumped and exuberant. This moment is almost better than Christmas because we only celebrate Ring Day once a lifetime. I don’t need a big Glee-like production with music, lights and singing, although I’m not completely rejecting the idea. I just need a little photographic evidence that I did my hair and put on makeup to receive a physically small, yet metaphorically enormous symbol of my accomplishments as an Aggie…but I would really love to grab a celebratory dinner Friday night. Please, Mom and Dad? Your favorite college student gets hungry sometimes.

Thanks and Gig ‘em,
Anna Eubank ‘13

Anna sent this follow-up note after getting her Ring:

Still Smiling

The brief moment of panic- please don’t have my name misspelled, please don’t let it be the wrong size, please don’t tell me someone else picked it up earlier by mistake, please don’t let me drop it in this crowd
of people and not be able to find it again-was instantly smothered by a ridiculous grin.

Friday, September the 14th goes down in history as one of the greatest days in my life. The weather was pleasant, and an occasional breeze ruffled the sea of maroon outside the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center. My family and I joined the crowd and slowly worked our way through the lines to my designated table. We took a few photos standing in line, then my dad picked up my Ring box from the table and after checking that my name had, in fact, been engraved correctly, I put it on for the first time.

The rest of the night was a lot of fun, but it really couldn’t compare to that moment. I spent so long waiting for my Ring, and the moment came and went so quickly I felt like I was trying to grab an already
speeding train. I can’t count many walls I almost walked into because I was staring at my hand in disbelief.

My first realization was about how heavy the Ring felt on my finger. It felt like a reminder of all my hard work. It felt like success and pride. I smiled the rest of the weekend. To be honest, I’m still smiling. What
an amazing thing that I have in common with my dad and grandfather.

A man stopped me while I was eating breakfast with my parents and brother Saturday morning in their hotel, and jokingly announced that he was going to need sunglasses because my ring was so bright and shiny. It made my day that people were already noticing my new “Aggie Bling,” and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life proudly showing off my Ring.

Also, because I know you were concerned, I had a wonderful dinner with my family at Christopher’s after receiving my Ring Friday night. I even went home with leftovers.

Thanks and Gig ‘Em,

Anna Eubank ‘13