Next on the tee:

This archived article was written by: David Osborne Jr.

Well, it is finally here, the issue of The Eagle that I have looked forward to and dreaded since I started my college adventures at what is no longer the College of Eastern Utah, rather Utah State University Eastern, or what have you. This is my last will and testament, my final words as a writer for the college newspaper and as the editor for the sports pages. In the immortal words of Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …” College has certainly been one of the best times in my life, at the same time there have been times that were tumultuous and left me wondering what I would do as I am sure many of you have. So without any further blubbering on from me, here is the final segment of “Next on the tee.”
Going through college is crazy and fun, one moment we are wondering who we are and who we will become because we really have no clue. The next we realize that we have grown and developed in ways that we (and mostly our parents) could have dreamed of.
When we start out, we are the way Dr. Seuss starts out his book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.” “Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to great places! You are off and away!” We all started out with our day, the day that we realized we were no longer children and that we could and would be something.
Continuing from Dr. Seuss, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” After our big day of realizing that we were no longer children, we started making decisions. Those decisions were made somewhere between graduation from high school and first setting foot on campus. We decided who we were going to be and become now that we had a clean slate. We decided the classes to take; whether we would go to class or not and whether we would have Ramen Noodles, the cafeteria or cold cereal for dinner. Decisions didn’t stop there, and they won’t. Instead, they continue for the rest of our lives.
“Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.” Now we may not all be athletes, in fact most of us aren’t. But, we all can win games in our own right. The theatre department has plays we watch, the art gallery has creative pieces we view, of course, the athletes have the games they play and try their hardest to win, and then there is the few of us that write and report the goings-on of campus. The biggest game of all is graduation. It is the final game here at USU-CEU and with that final buzzer, our time here ends.
Will we be successful after this, the answer comes from Dr. Seuss again, “And will you succeed? Yes! You will indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.) Kid, you’ll move mountains.” We have already succeeded by completing a successful year as college students, whether we are traditional, non-traditional, freshmen that will be coming back or sophomores that are ending our days here. Our real success won’t be measured by us graduating, but rather what we do with the knowledge that we have gained and where we go from here.
“So … be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to great places! Today is your day! You’re mountain is waiting. So … get on your way!” With the school year coming to a close, we have places to go once again. Some will be returning, others will be heading to new adventures at universities whether they be big or small, or perhaps just adventures out in the world. All of us must get on our way, but never forget who we are and what we have become because of our professors, friends and the staff at USU-CEU.
Before I end my final words as a Golden Eagle, I would like to thank a few people. First my parents, they have made all of this possible and have supported me in the several changes that I have made in my career choice, hopefully public relations will stick for their sake. I would like to say thank you to my mother for teaching me about not giving up on what we want most. She would often tell me, “The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what we want most for what we want at the moment.” I would like to thank my grandfather, John Boswell. He created a name for himself when he worked at CEU and because of that, I have tried my hardest to keep that name clean. I would like to thank him for his philosophy to live by, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
A special thanks goes out to my aunt and uncle, Peggy and Elwin Atwood. They let me live with them for this past year, and there was always a warm Sunday meal, and a plate of food in the fridge when I got home from work. Not only was there a roof over my head and food ready for me, but they were always there to talk when I needed someone to give me advice or just lend a listening ear.
I would like to thank Larry Severeid, not only for giving me a chance in his English class, but for instilling a love of English and writing in me. I am sure I wouldn’t enjoy public relations and writing for the newspaper if I didn’t learn to love the English language.
I would also like to thank Coach Dave Paur and the rest of the athletics department for everything that they have done for me. They have always made it easy as a sports writer, and the sports editor to get a hold of them and talk to them about the games or anything else that I needed to know so that I could do my job. I would like to thank the teams for making it fun and interesting to cover their stories. There were definitely times that were hard to write stories about them, but in the end it was generally enjoyable.
The biggest thank you of all goes to Susan Polster though. Not only is she my mentor and adviser for the newspaper, but she has become one of my many second mothers. I started out here my freshman year as a determined history major, now I am leaving as a communication’s major ready to take on the world through words.
This is why my last will and testament and the places that we’ll go have been next on the tee.