Aggie Ring Day Options

[Rush]

This topic is a little late coming, but I was waiting until I had a picture. Last Thursday was my Aggie ring day. At Texas A&M the Aggie ring is more than just a class ring that you put aside after a couple years. It is a relic Aggies wear for the rest of their lives. At A&M we say that once you're an Aggie, you're always an Aggie, so we have no "ex-Aggies" and alumni are called "former students." Most former students wear their ring for a lifetime, and since all Aggie rings are homogenous, the ring it is a simple way to recognize a fellow Ag.

Now, maybe all of this sounds cheesy, but the comradarie and unity among those who attend and have attended Texas A&M goes back for well over a century, and is something you must experience in order to understand. A&M opened in 1876 and for most of its first century was an all-male military institution. This contributed greatly to the comraderie I spoke of as well as the traditions we hold so dear. Though now only around 2,000 of the 35,000 undergrads at A&M are a part of the Corps of Cadets, the tradition and family of A&M has held strong.

Both of my parents graduated from A&M, and my grandfather had a brief time there. My cousin is a member of the Corps and is a third generation Aggie with his grandfather, father, and three uncles having been cadets. In fact, the Parsons Mounted Cavalry (a horse mounted cav unit maintained ceremonially and for tradition's sake) fires a World War I era field howizter at football games when the Ags score. It was my uncle who found and refurbished this canon in the late '70's.

As you can tell, legacy is a strong value at A&M and so is the Aggie ring. I can't tell you how many times I have struck up a conversation with a stranger (outside the realm of College Station) just because they had that ring on their finger. The cool thing is that similar conversations strike up all over the world because people who share a common bond recognize each other because of one small piece of jewelry.

I didn't mean to make this so long, but I thought I'd explain a little about why I'm proud to wear this ring and why I'm proud to be a Texas Aggie. I have a link to a picture of my ring alongside my girlfriend's. We both graduate this December.

edit: p.s. i put this is the "achievements" forum because it took me 3 years to earn the ring.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j31/savethebird/Rings.jpg

This post has been edited by Rush: 09/20/06 11:38pm

[colonelbounds]

Got 3 words for ya my friend....GO HORNS GO !!!

But congrats on that hard earned ring !! Sounds like you deserve it !!

This post has been edited by colonelbounds: 09/21/06 4:10pm