Since I graduated from TCU, I have been many places around the U.S. due to my time in the Air Force, and now I reside in Memphis, TN, where I am an Air Traffic Controller. My wife and I love it here but also look forward to the days when we can move back to Michigan. Although life is fun and our attitudes make anywhere we live fun, there are many things I miss about college and often reflect back on the good ol' days. What are you going to miss? What memories are you making now? Among other things on my long list of memories that I frequently visit in my heart are…
First and foremost: I was placed in Clark Hall Dormitory where I met all of the people that I would be connected to throughout my entire time at TCU. Freshman year is a vital year for meeting your friends that make college a wonderful experience and I feel that God placed us all there for one big purpose...to love GOD... to have fun, and play Ultimate Frisbee. Which brings me to a second memory: every Friday we would play Ultimate Frisbee on the Clark Hall lawn. For some reason I would (and still will) chase that Frisbee no matter how much my body said to stop. There was something about hanging out with the boys and the occasional woman and not thinking about anything else but scoring a touchdown.
Also freshman year I started going to church at University Baptist Church where every Sunday I got to worship our God and grow closer to him. University Baptist Church also had a Sunday night service called 8ish. 8ish was a ministry focused around the college students in the local area. The men and women that were chosen to lead this up will forever hold a special place in my heart. They would do practically anything at anytime just to help a little. Might I add that they helped way more than a little. They were constantly planning worship services and retreats and really knew how to make life better for us. I know that God will bless their lives as they have blessed ours. Every Tuesday that same group would go to Rosa’s for some Taco Tuesday action. All I remember about that was some good food, good fun and good people.
When I was a sophomore I started getting real serious about a group called Baptist Student Ministries. There I was able to let loose and jam for God with a ton of Christians who went to TCU. I played guitar and a little bass guitar while I was there. God was able to work through us to get a little closer to the people on our campus. There we were able to dig more and more into the lives of our fellow classmates and challenge each other to go beyond our comfort zones cause the moment we left the room we met in we were right smack dab in the middle of our mission: lovin’ people. Another memory that I have from TCU is playing racquetball at our highly renovated gym. We would procrastinate sometimes for 3 to 4 hours playing R-Ball. Afterwards we would always go back to Frog Bytes cafe (RIP Frog Bytes) and eat all the calories that we had just burned off.
The football games rocked! I never went a home game without wearing a purple toga and being painted up. The first row of the student section, standing on the rail and trying to make the newspaper, is where you could find me. While I was going to UBC for church they connected me with a family that was to be my family away from home. The family I was blessed with was the Biser family. They took me in like I had been there forever. We did Easter, lunch after church, racquetball, dinners, and everything else. They were always there for me. Even now we still keep in contact and it has been 8 years!
9-11. Why is 9-11 a good memory for me at TCU? All I remember is every patch of grass being covered with fellow TCUers praying for the families that were affected that day. All day we as a nation were on the same page; all that day TCU came together as one big family.
And last, but not even close to least, is the free food. Every year started off with about two weeks of free food. Always a memory, now that I have to actually pay for my food without taking a loan out for it!
Well there you have it. Twelve memories that I often visit in my heart. After taking a moment to reflect on these, I notice one thing that they all have in common: God. God was with me the whole way. Anytime I felt helpless or overwhelmed with school work, God was there to protect me and give me the strength to keep fighting. God was the center and God was all around my life. Without him I could not have done it. Without his promise to protect me I was nothing. With him I can stand strong. Thank you, God. My hope is that one day, maybe even now, you can look back and realize what great things come from knowing God and his kingdom. Peace be with you.
Patrick Taylor, UBC & TCU Graduate, Class of 2004
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