Within the Realms of the Plaza

It’s about 4:30 in the afternoon on the second day of November 2009. I’m sitting here in Academic Plaza, looking around, and as usual, reflecting. I’m sitting under one of the oak trees on a bench. According to my phone it is 76 degrees outside, a very light breeze, with not a cloud in the sky. If I could define my adopted catch phrase “what a beautiful Aggie day,” I think today would be it. Some of the trees have begun to slightly change in color, as a Texas autumn sets it. The Century Oak stands majestically with its branches draping over the ‘forbidden’ sidewalk and bench. There are probably a total of ten students on the Plaza. Two fish walk nervously from the left corner of the Academic Building in front of the Sul Ross Statue. There’s a girl studying; a young couple laughing; and a guy lying on the bench from across the plaza. I sit here and type away. I left work early, and decided to come here before my Tuesday dinner tradition with my good friend Angie. Today is a very special day at Texas A&M: tonight we will have Silver Taps.

The tradition of Silver Taps is held on the first Tuesday of every month at 10:30 pm. It is a memorial-like event in which we honor a student or students who passed away in the previous month. Tonight we will honor Robert Davis Briggs, Aggie class of 2013. At 10:30, this Plaza will be filled with thousands of students, most of who never had the opportunity to meet Robert, but who will be there standing as members of his Aggie family. There will be a 21-gun salute and a song called “Silver Taps” played on the trumpet from the top of the Academic Building. Besides that, it is a time of reflection, prayer, and thought. There will be no speeches and no candles. Simply camaraderie and unity, as we share this unique experience together. Unique would be the best way to describe it, as no other school does anything like this. With a school of 49,000, I am constantly amazed at the community that exists here. Silver Taps is an example of that.

To my friends at Baylor, Texas, Oklahoma, and so on, you will never understand. You will earn a degree from a respectable school and you will give money back to your alma mater because of your memories and experiences. If you make enough money, maybe your school will honor you in some way. Maybe. That’s usually how it works, isn’t it? I was lucky enough to choose Texas A&M; a school where I can be myself, honor those around me, serve the greater good, and be successful, all in a day. I chose A&M, a school that will honor me not because I held a leadership position or because I made stellar grades, but simply because I walked the realms of Aggieland as a student. I will be honored because I am an Aggie, and it will be a legacy that will stay with me, literally for the rest of my life.

Be jealous, because it is something you can only experience once. You can have your great football team and expensive tuition. But thank God I’m an Aggie.