Memories

"Every day, a page turned down; every night, a lonesome sound,
Like a freight train rollin' through my dreams:
Every mile, a memory."
-Dierks Bentley

With every beginning, there comes an end. For some it comes earlier than others. These last few weeks have seen a chapter close in the story here in the Tartan World. About one-third of my class survived the tortuous, as well as many fun times here, to enable an early escape, somewhat unscathed with something we all came here to achieve, their Master's degree. First, let me congratulate them on this accomplishment.
[Edit: The rest of us hope to be done by May. ]

Of course, we have never been a bunch to shy away from extracting humor from a situation. So as the graduates prepared to leave, we all gathered together to talk about memories, and first impressions. We spoke about times past, and times yet to come. We spoke about connections, and things we will never forget. And all this while, we spoke about friendship.

Nearly two years together, and a bond formed between everyone. The bond may have been stronger with some than it was with others, but it ran through like a twine that connected each one of us. There are still many things that we can claim to be exclusive to us here at the INI.

There were many highlights of these 2 evenings that we have had so far. Stories narrated about everyone present. Recollections made, jokes cracked. In the end, I have to finish with my most hearty congratulations to P and S for taking the next step in their lives. They have come through here, and will leave INI with not only their Master's but something that, I am sure, will be much much more important later in life.