Why Being a Zag Matters

A letter to my younger self on what makes a Gonzaga education meaningful

Dear Amy,

You just received your acceptance letter to Gonzaga University, and you are crying.

I know those tears are anxious, fearful, and joyous all at once. I know you feel the weight of your future in this decision. I know you question the path ahead and mourn the roads not taken.

I also know that these sharp feelings will fade like photographs over time. Though, in this digital age, they’ll pixelate, and eventually get lost on a backup hard drive that you left with your parents for safekeeping and forgot.

How do I know these things?

I – you – lived this moment and chose Gonzaga to be the place where you would learn to have strong opinions about the world, figure out the importance of friendships, and take pride in your community.

Your time at Gonzaga will teach you more than you can imagine right now. It will take you a decade or so to really appreciate your experiences and your education.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

Move-in day is stressful. You won’t be able to help the girl down the hallway with a mild Minnesotan accent connect to the Wi-Fi, but she’ll become your forever friend anyway. On-campus apartments are prime real-estate. It's important to live with people who can laugh with you and make sure you study. You’re especially thankful that they finally persuaded you to embrace the craziness that is the Kennel and attend a few Zags basketball games.

You find a kind of peace in the ritual of a Catholic mass despite your tenuous relationship with religion. You’ll also find a refreshing lack of dogmatism in your required religion classes. Father Kuder’s infectious optimism and approach to teaching the Old and New Testament makes up for the 8:00 am start time.

Even though you always planned to study English, you love creative writing. You write best deep in the night while the world sleeps. Your work could benefit from more time for editing, developing, and revising, but you’re a deadline junkie. The watercolors of light at dawn mean you really do need to submit that paper. Despite your self-consciousness about your writing, you can tell captivating and even award-winning stories.

A semester abroad is difficult and scarier than anything you’ve ever done. Florence is also exactly what you need to experience and write about for yourself. A molten 1€ chocolate croissant from the secret bakery is worth the throbbing hangover the next morning. There may be such a thing as too much pasta, but good friends who will travel with you across Italy in search of the best pasta and not judge you for drinking too much wine while you’re at it are a rare find.

Are you still reading? Good. Take a deep breath and dry those worried tears.

One day you’ll be proud to be a Zag. You’ll even come back for a second degree because you love the challenge of learning and you trust the richness of your Gonzaga education to help you develop as a professional.

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Until then, try to worry less about whether people think you’re cool and start looking forward to the meaningful, multifaceted experiences you’ll have at Gonzaga. While you’re there, be sure to have a COG cookie or two.

All love, Amy