I still have a year left until graduation, and I’m already feeling nostalgic as the seniors are getting ready to say “Vámanos!” and take that scary walk across the Pegasus in the Student Union. I want to make the most out of my last year as a Knight, so it had me thinking off all of the things I need to truly absorb and appreciate within the next year as a senior. UCF has been my home away from home and provided me with such amazing opportunities and lifelong memories, I’m going to miss everything about going here. However, here are the top five things I’m truly going to miss most after graduating from this amazing university:
1) Football games
Win or lose, football games are always a great time. I’ll miss the crazy tailgates, seeing Knight Fan Stan cheer on the student section in the stands, the family weekend games, and yelling “KNIGHT” during the national anthem. (Oh, and being able to miss class on Thursday games will totally be missed too.) Football games give me a whirlwind of emotions, and now with Coach Frost as our new football coach, it’ll be interesting to see how our team does next season. Of course we can always come back to the games as alumni, but the rush of football season as a college student is truly irreplaceable, especially when the Knights are so unpredictable!
2) UCF’s homecoming traditions
Fall is my favorite semester because of all of the fun events around campus, and homecoming week is one that definitely doesn’t disappoint. Comedy Knight and Spirit Splash are my two favorite events throughout the week, and the homecoming football game of course, too. Other universities don’t fully understand the hype of Spirit Splash, but the atmosphere and adrenaline before charging in the Reflection Pond, and the satisfaction of getting a Spirit Splash duck, is a part of the UCF experience. Our week of homecoming fun is something I will miss a lot.
3) The endless food and drinks
While the restaurants surrounding UCF aren’t going anywhere, most of us may be, and it’s going to be sad living further away from Lazy Moon, Jimmy Hulas and Kyoto, among others! Plus, we’ll no longer have an excuse to go pick up food at midnight looking like a train wreck (without being judged). Speaking of train wrecks, Library and Pub will turn into fancy, expensive bars with less cheap beer and mediocre deals once we leave the UCF area.
4) UCF student discounts
Being so close to Disney and Universal is fun, especially when UCF pays for some of your ticket! I’m definitely going to miss our amazing student discounts that we’re offered for various places surrounding the Orlando area. Universal Knights is one of the many events I will miss as a UCF student. It’s something a lot of us look forward to in the *dragging* spring semester! It’s a good time roaming the theme park with fellow knights, and all for free courtesy of our university.
5) The campus
To sum up what I’ll miss most, is our campus itself. It’s the one thing that made me fall in love with this school in the first place. I feel so happy walking around our gorgeous campus every day, even if it is 95 degrees and humid. Everywhere on campus is picturesque. During the winter time, Light Up UCF is an incandescent sight to see on the part of campus near the arena. The Reflection Pond, Lake Claire, and Meditation Garden are amongst the prettiest sights to see on campus daily. However, I will miss seeing even the most simplistic things, too; I’m going to miss walking around UCF and seeing kids passed out in the library, so tired that they don’t care where they drool, students relaxing on hammocks on Memory Mall, enjoying life with no worries, and tour groups anxiously looking at where they’ll be their next four years–and always holding in the urge to tell them they are making the best decision, ever.
These are five of 5 million things I’ll miss after graduating from UCF. I know I’m going to miss feeling like a student at my big and beautiful university when it’s all over. But no matter where I am, I know when I step onto UCF’s campus, those feelings and memories will always be brought back.