If there is a more beautiful campus than the University of Georgia, I haven’t found it yet. I just returned to my apartment after taking a stroll up to Tate to take care of some business. After that was done, I decided to put my new wheelchair batteries to the test and take a walk (errr…roll) around campus. As I was walking past the stadium, then Stegeman, my old stomping grounds at Tucker Hall, then up through North Campus on the way back, I couldn’t help but think about about how much I love Athens and this university because it gave me a life I never thought I could have.
When I was born with Cerebral Palsy, the doctors told my parents that they weren’t sure what my life would be like. But they insisted on helping me to defy those measured expectations. Growing up in the heart of Buckeye country, I thought I may never leave Ohio. Then, when I was eyeing grad schools, one of my professors suggested that I give Georgia a look because she had earned her PhD there. From the moment I arrived, a part of me felt like I belonged in Athens. A wonderful Disability Specialist gave me a personalized tour, and I eventually made the decision to become a Dawg. That meant moving almost 11 hours away from my entire family, not knowing a soul. I truly learned to live an independent life in my apartment on College Station, one that I wasn’t sure was possible. When I graduated, I ventured back to Ohio for a few years…and then Athens called me home. I heard a saying once that Athens gets in your blood and stays there. Nothing could have been truer for me. Athens shaped me into who I am today.
You all probably stopped reading long ago (I have never been accused of being concise), but I say all that to say this: on the eve of another football season, I’m so grateful that I found my way to the Classic City, that I get to call myself an alumna of the best damn university in the land, and that I get to spend Saturdays in the Fall Between the Hedges with 92,000 of my closest friends cheering on the Back-to-Back National Champions.
GO DAWGS!!!
When I was born with Cerebral Palsy, the doctors told my parents that they weren’t sure what my life would be like. But they insisted on helping me to defy those measured expectations. Growing up in the heart of Buckeye country, I thought I may never leave Ohio. Then, when I was eyeing grad schools, one of my professors suggested that I give Georgia a look because she had earned her PhD there. From the moment I arrived, a part of me felt like I belonged in Athens. A wonderful Disability Specialist gave me a personalized tour, and I eventually made the decision to become a Dawg. That meant moving almost 11 hours away from my entire family, not knowing a soul. I truly learned to live an independent life in my apartment on College Station, one that I wasn’t sure was possible. When I graduated, I ventured back to Ohio for a few years…and then Athens called me home. I heard a saying once that Athens gets in your blood and stays there. Nothing could have been truer for me. Athens shaped me into who I am today.
You all probably stopped reading long ago (I have never been accused of being concise), but I say all that to say this: on the eve of another football season, I’m so grateful that I found my way to the Classic City, that I get to call myself an alumna of the best damn university in the land, and that I get to spend Saturdays in the Fall Between the Hedges with 92,000 of my closest friends cheering on the Back-to-Back National Champions.
GO DAWGS!!!
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