Things I Wish I Knew...

by Stephen Perry

​One of my life goals is and has been since I was in Junior High was to graduate from Texas Tech. I, like many others, have taken an unconventional path to that goal, and because of that I now find myself in a position to give a few pointers.
 
The first of which is that I made one of the best mistakes ever by not going straight into college from High School. For me, and probably many others out there, I wanted to both experience the world and go to college. Not that it is impossible to do both simultaneously but I think I would have fallen in love with the idea of traveling if I did it during college and dropped out.  Instead, I joined the military and gained countless experiences that helped shaped me into the person I am today.
 
Another nugget of wisdom I wish I knew before coming back to college is what exactly the “Terry Family” really is. I have a family of my own, and as a non-traditional student I immediately said to myself “Self,” (cause that’s how we all do it, right?) “you don’t have time or a need for the Terry Family, I mean I’m sure they are great and all but…” BIG MISTAKE! The Terry Family is more than just a bunch of people getting together for some meetings and saying the superficial “Hello” or “How are you?” It is a group of people who genuinely care for each other and are ALWAYS happy to help you with anything. Coming from the military I have a relatively jaded view of the people/world we live in, and of course any group with have those people but the Terry’s are exceptionally awesome! I have only been in school for a semester now and I can tell you already that I will keep in touch with more Terry’s than I will any other group.
 
To sum it up into a few words I’ll close with this; When you hear “get involved” don’t look for a reason to not dive in headfirst with the Terry Family. That is a mistake, especially for my fellow transfers. Despite having experienced a little bit more of life outside the comfort of home, the one thing you should have learned by now is that the people in your dugout is what makes the difference between a losing team and a championship team.