It’s
Madison (you may remember me as Maddie) joining The ’79 Family! Taking
my turn to bark out a greeting and some thoughts for this month.
It
was a gray day, the trees were bare, and not a soul was in sight as I
stepped through the gate from Nassau Street onto the Princeton campus
for the very first time. My feet lit on a flagstone path and it was as
if I had been struck by lightning – an electric charge ran through my
body. I looked at my Mom and said “This is where I need to go to
school.” My Mom looked at me quizzically, then nodded and said that she
hoped I got my wish. I was there to meet a fellow who had graduated from
my high school the year before so he could show us around. Suddenly the
bells chimed and students emerged from everywhere – the campus had
sprung to life. If only I could be one of them.
You
know how that story ended – I did get accepted, I did attend for four
years, and I did graduate with the fabulous Class of ’79. What you don’t
know, and what I could not have imagined at the time, was that the
years since graduation and the classmates I have met since then have had
an even more profound impact on my life than did those first four
years.
During
my student days I believed I was making the most of my time at
Princeton by being involved in things that interested me and meeting
those fabulous people with whom I crossed paths doing those things. I
had no idea how much I had missed during those years until I attended
Reunions. I have attended most of the major reunions since graduating
(missed the 15th as I was too pregnant to fly) and really
enjoyed catching up with old friends and folks I had known while in
school. To my great surprise and delight what I enjoyed even more was
meeting and learning about the folks I had never managed to meet or
spend time with during school. Each time I attend a reunion I now make
an effort to meet and spend time with people I had not previously met or
known. Several have become integral parts of my life and my only regret
is that I did not meet them sooner. I plan on continuing down this
path.
Please
come back so that I can meet you. I bet we will have a great time. Take
that first step as I did almost 44 years ago – lightning may strike
again!
While
our letters are the Roadtrip to the 40th Reunion next year, consider
coming to our 39th and reconnect with ‘78ers! Off year reunions are a
blast and we plan a special luncheon on Saturday at Dial Lodge prior to
the P-rade!
