Campus Chronicles 14: I Dreamed a Dream ft KimboSmash

Oh I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need. I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree. I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know. Make my wish come true! All I want for Christmas is youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUuuUUuuUUUUUU!

Hellooooooooooooooooooooooo Baylor Nation! First off I just wanna say Merry Christmas, y'all! If you're celebrating anything else a happy one of those too. Fall 2015 is in the books and it came with a lot of good, a little bad, and even some ugly. My good friend, and now official Baylor alumna, KimboSmash is here to give us a look back at the 3.5 years she's spent as an undergrad here in Waco! Congrats and fling that green and gold forever, Kimbo! Let's get into it!

Jam of the Week

KimboSmash's Career:

Hi y'all!  It's been a while since I posted on here, but fret not!  Baseball season is coming.  I attended game 5 of the Green and Gold Scrimmage back in...October? and liked what I saw.  This season is definitely going to be a transition year. but the Bears are hitting like they did in the Big 12 Tourney.  ANYWAY.

This post is not about baseball.  lord.hinton asked me to be a guest this week to talk about a really special Baylor tradition: commencement.  I graduated from Baylor on Saturday, after three and a half short years.  This has been a very special time to be a Baylor Bear.

When I got to campus as a freshman in fall 2012, I had no idea who Art Briles was, or what kind of offense we ran here at Baylor.  (I'd never followed college football before, fun fact.)  I knew RG3 had won this big trophy called the Heisman in December, and a lot of my facebook friends already at Baylor had added a "III" to the end of their name.  I knew next to nothing about Baylor Athletics, which is hilarious now.  I ran the line at every home game, watched the Great WVU Shootout of 2012 on the TVs in the Sub, and cheered like crazy during that Kansas State game.  That year, I didn't follow Baylor sports anywhere near the way I do now.  I took hard classes and climbed the many trees on campus and stayed up too late and took part in normal, college freshman shenangians, like staying up too late to write papers and exploring campus late at night and walking back and forth from Penland to Memorial.  (Martin boys > Penland boys, just for the record.)

Baylor University has been so good to me.  I was privileged enough to find amazing, life-long friends, get a quality education, actually make FRIENDS with my professors, drink too much coffee (shoutout to Common Grounds and Dichotomy), and plant a firm foundation for my faith.  Baylor is a special place, where professors care about your life and pray over your class sometimes, and you can walk anywhere on campus and find people encouraging one another.  Additionally, I witnessed some of the best years of Baylor Athletics.  I witnessed numerous Big 12 Championships, National Championships, and even NIT Championships.

Waco is booming, right along with the University.  There are so many new restaurants springing up in the area.  It is a fantastic time to be at Baylor.  These are probably some of her finest years.  As Tommye Lou Davis said at Commencement, "you attended Baylor at her best."  And boy, did I.

I am sad to be leaving the place I've called home for three and a half years.  Baylor has been such a beautiful time of growth and transformation in my life.  I made mistakes, messed up, and spent some very unpleasant nights wondering why I was put on this Earth, or if people would like me, or if that guy in my class would ever notice me (he didn't, and that's okay).  Through all of that, Baylor has provided me with forever friends and a huge national network of people who wish me the best and will walk with me through the hard times and celebrate the good times.

I'll end with a quote from Samuel Palmer Brooks's Immortal Message.

"Because of what Baylor has meant to you in the past, because of what she will mean to you in the future, oh, my students, have a care for Her.  Build upon the foundations here...that She may touch and mold the lives of future generations and help to fit them for life here and hereafter.  To you seniors of the past, of the present, of the future I entrust the care of Baylor University.  To you I hand the torch."

And to you I hand the torch, indeed.

Enough with the sentimental stuff.  We have a bowl game to get hyped for!

Goin' Bowlin'!

As of this writing (12/22/15), it is EXACTLY 7 days until the Russell Athletic Bowl.  It. Is. Liiiiiiit.

(Do not, I repeat, do NOT light that Christmas Tree on fire.  Leave that to this guy.)

Although some important guys on our offense are missing due to injury, I'm excited to see this special team play one more time.  It's hard to think that a three loss season would be disappointing.  Given all that occured this season, with injuries and monsoons and #TeamChaos reigning tyrannically, it's pretty obvious that this team is incredible.  We went through 4 different guys at QB, and each did a pretty solid job.  We almost won the Texas game with a short WR who hasn't played QB in years under center.  This has been a roller-coaster of a season, and with a month to get ready, I'm confident Chris Johnson will hone his skills and this team will come ready to play.

That said, it is more lit than this Christmas Tree en fuego 'round these parts.  Your Bears are gonna fight with all their might, because they're Bruins bold.  (Yes, I'm just paraphrasing Old Fite at this point...hush.)  It's gonna be a good game, regardless.

Get lit.  Or turnt.  Or whatever.

Sic 'em.

Lord.Hinton's Semester

Fall 2015. Hooboy that was something.

This semester definitely had its highs and its lows but overall on a scale of Nope-Dope I'd say it was definitely liiiiiit.

This semester I completed one of my college goals of joining Student Foundation. I began my major coursework and had a blast. I struggled through Finance and got a grade I can live with. I led an awesome welcome week group and they're all out here prospering. I watched another exciting season of Baylor Football and the beginnings of another set of stellar seasons for Men's and Women's basketball first hand. I gained valuable work-experience and made even more valuable connections.

I am so thankful and excited for the opportunity to finish out my career here and get that Baylor ring (probably not by spring, but we'll see) and walk across that stage in Spring 2017. Coming up in Spring 2016 I will be continuing to serve as the Bearathon's Sponsorship Co-Chair and I hope to take advantage of whatever great opportunities await me in the future.

I just got back to my hometown of Katy, Tx on December 22nd because I had to stay in Waco and work but now I'm here and really excited to spend Christmas and New Year's Day with my family. We will actually be driving up to Nashville Friday night/Saturday morning for a little vacation and to watch the newly first place Houston Texans take on the Tennessee Titans.

I don't really have a whole lot more to say and this Campus Chronicle was really KimboSmash's time to shine so I'll cut it off here.

Happy Holidays once again you guys!

That's some random guy, KimboSmash, and I at Magnolia last week.

Merry Christmas from us all.