Homecoming 2006

As some of you may or may not know 1 week ago was my first experience attending my University's homecoming as an alumna. I recall last year feeling a certain distate for those that returned for the game. I felt they were taking up unneccesary room in my bars and that they detracted from my overall enjoyment of the weekend. I did not understand why these individuals would feel they had the right to come back for this game and act as if they had never left school. Why wouldn't they hang out in their hotel bars or other more sophisticated venues with the other alumni? Why would they choose to hang out with slovenly undergrads partaking in a weekend of binge drinking and other debaucherous merrimaking? Wasn't the real world much more interesting than this contained community of mind altered non-reality? This is where my recent life experience becomes extremely valuable. The answer is "No". In actuality the real world is not only not more interesting, it is in fact dull. As soon as I made my move down to Florida I booked my ticket to homecoming weekend. And after that ticket was booked every glich in my day was combatted with the thought that in 4 short weeks, three short weeks, 2, etc I would be going back to Ithaca. When the day actually arrived I was a mess. I tried cooling my nerves with a cocktail at the airport. This did not help and when my plane was delayed a fit of hysterics errupted. Another cocktail on the plane did not do the trick. But talking to every single passenger and flight attendant on the plane did. Not a minute after entering the plane I am pretty sure every passenger knew I had just moved to Florida, just graduated from Cornell, was going to my first homecoming and was most likely going to miss my connecting flight in Detroit. I had people mapping out the fastest route to the gate, I had people praying, I had people giving up their seat so I could get closer to the front of the plane to ensure a smooth exit from the plane, even though most others would be missing connections as well. Due to a small miracle and the fabulous persuasion of my dear friend awaiting me on my connecting flight I somehow made it and thus, began the greatest weekend of my life and my feeble attempts to trick the rest of campus into thinking I was still a student. Upon arrival in Ithaca New York, I immediately purchased a new Cornell sweatshirt, which became a permanent fixture on my body for the next week. Had I not stopped to take a picture or cry every 3 feet while trapsing around campus, I might have even fooled a few current students into thinking I still attended this Academic stomping ground. And the weekend itself it was in fact great. For three all too short days I felt like I had never even left. I ate at all my favorite restaurants, chatted with all my favorite teachers, had my favorite drinks at my favorite bars served by my favorite bartenders. And truth be told, if undergrads were feeling the way I did last year, I didn't even notice, because I was having way to much fun. I have absolutely no qualms about returning to the exquisite event for many years to come and cannot wait for the day I give birth so that I can commence feeding my newborn "Cornell" propoganda to ensure his or her application 17 years from that day. I can just picture those "Somebody at Cornell loves Me" onsies now...