Welcome to Virginia Tech: Ryan Hopkins

Written by Ryan Hopkins.

It’s hard to believe that I’m sitting on the floor around piles of packed boxes filled with just as many memories as belongings. I added it up a few weeks ago. Since my orientation session in July 2012 I have never been away from Blacksburg for more than two weeks at a time. Virginia Tech has made me feel more at home than actual home has -- what a gift it is to even have that simple feeling. Now, five years later, I’m packing my things to move to a new city, a new job, a new adventure. I have yet to find the words to express how this feels, but I have spent a lot of time reflecting on who I was when I stepped foot on campus at Orientation and who I am now leaving with Lane fading away in the rear-view mirror. At first, I thought if I had the chance to talk to that 18-year-old kid now I would probably tell him which classes to expect pop-quizzes in, but truth be told, I’d want to share something way more important than that...

Dear Ryan,

I know you’re scared. I know you’re not sure if you can do this. I know you think you aren’t smart enough to be attending college, especially Virginia Tech. But you can and you will. Tomorrow, you move into your residence hall and painstakingly arrange your room into the ideal setup, only to modify it about a dozen times before the year ends. You will be surrounded by wonderful hall mates; some of them, in fact, will be there for you in some of your hardest moments even years later. Appreciate them and spend as much time with them as you can. Living with those people is fleeting and you will spend days wishing you were there again.

You’re going to mess up. A whole lot. In fact, you will mess up a few times that may even bring you to tears. In class, in relationships with others, and in life in general. You’re going to withdraw from a course (or two...), you’re going to hurt people, and you’re going to not appreciate things you should. Acknowledge them and face those mistakes head on rather than pushing them aside, never addressing them--which only makes it far worse. The bad news about these faults is that they are not a ton of fun. The good news about these faults is that they are a clear indication that you are human. Talking through them out loud with people who care about you is the best way to grow from them--never hesitate in a moment of vulnerability to do so. When it’s all said and done, those moments of openness are really what will matter.

You don’t know it all. In fact, you know very little. When you do learn something new, share it with others and bring them along in your learning. Some of your best ideas and successful academic endeavors will happen because of those who are with you in the thick of it. If you become selfish with knowledge, we all lose. Some of your worst grades will come from times when you isolate yourself and voyage into the rough seas of coursework alone. Admit you need help and do it often; this does not make you seem weak, and I promise you will become brighter because of it.

There will be moments on this campus that no camera can capture and no words could describe. In those moments, be fully present and soak it all in. On your way back from your first night class at McBryde, the sun will be setting in the distance over War Memorial Hall, and you will be able to see the skyline of campus around it. When it snows, the lights across campus will reflect so bright off the white blanket that the Drillfield will look like the sun is out. Time will stand still when you watch the Ring Dance fireworks go off from the Pylons. You’ll watch the Hokies win on the road in the middle of a hurricane, and you’ll watch the Hokies lose on the road at a NASCAR track, but honestly, the scoreboards won’t matter at either because the people you are with are what make it so special. You will sit on the window ledge of West AJ on a cold December night, look out at the mountains, and make the phone call to Mom that you don’t think you’ll be able to graduate. You both will be in tears when you meet up outside of the Burruss tunnel to show her your diploma on an early May morning, something she never had the chance to earn. Your heart will ache when the names are read aloud at midnight on April 16. They will echo back and forth from behind as they bounce from one side of campus to the other. These moments will leave as quickly as they come, so relish them as best you know how.

I don’t want to spoil too much more, but I want you to know that this Virginia Tech community is going to support you, challenge you, and love you in ways you cannot yet fathom. Things will not always be easy, but I can promise you when the dust settles, you will be stronger because of it. Don’t wish away days looking forward to the next holiday break; there will come a day when you’re sitting on the floor around moving boxes, and you’ll wish for nothing more than to be right back there in that moment. Virginia Tech will give its all to you in so many ways, and you’ll spend your life giving it back to all of the communities you travel to. Ut Prosim is not confined to the borders of campus or the town of Blacksburg. You and your fellow Hokies have a responsibly to take it everywhere you go.

Ease your fears. You can do this. You’re smart enough to be here, and you’re able to do this college thing.  Honestly, you’re simply enough. You won’t have to change yourself to fit in here at Virginia Tech. This community is going to give you the space to be who you always have been, your true self. Enjoy this ride; it’s going to be one for the books. Trust me; you’re in good hands. Welcome to Virginia Tech, Ryan. This is home.

With Hokie Spirit,

Your Future Self

P.S. Don’t panic if you see people overreacting to a horse on a treadmill and/or about this chicken parm thing at Owens. Trust me. It’ll all make sense--just give it time.