31 columns later ...

I'll remember spending my first night in Forest-B11 sleeping on top of my covers, watching a kid down an entire fifth of 151 at my first college party, jumping in the air after being cast in "Boy In the Bubble," dancing to the Chili Peppers' "Airplane" and kissing on the grassy hill at Ninth and Fess, running down Fee Lane and ending up at President Brand's house to watch effigies burned in front of the riot police, standing in Dunn Meadow to watch Bob Knight tearfully wave goodbye, being wowed by Dr. Fred McElroy in my African-American literature class, watching my roommate come home drunk, pour beer on my TV and wrestle the other Phil across the hall, getting trashed and screaming the lyrics to AC\DC's "Thunderstruck" during the almost-weekly "Forest Fiestas," coming home at 3 a.m. and watching the snow fall from my 11th-floor window, spending spring break in Daytona, "Sandstorm" and becoming desensitized to the sight of breasts, hearing O.A.R. and Shaggy every day of freshman year, seeing U2, Coldplay, Oasis and Radiohead all in one summer …\nI'll remember getting high for the first time, watching "101 Dalmatians" and eating a block of cheese, dressing up as the Beastie Boys from the "Sabotage" video for Halloween, walking around campus Sept. 11 in total awe, my first relationship (at 20!), going on a spring break cruise, smoking Cuban cigars, frequenting nude beaches and hearing the worst\best\most bizarre pick-up line ever ("show me some pink"), listening to Andy Hollinden talk about music in rock class, the Chicago Bears' best season since '85, sitting in a living room on Jefferson with 30 people watching the IU basketball team upset Duke, A.J. Moye, running to Kirkwood after making it to the National Championship to see people hanging from streetlights …\nI'll remember celebrating my 21st birthday at Sports, dancing to a band playing a roaring version of "Let's Get It On," and experiencing the Vid and its now extinct bathroom graffiti ("Sting cannot possibly be the same guy from the police!"), any class with Professor Robert Terrill, asking a girl out after finding her school ID (and succeeding … lasted four months, actually), partying at the Villas, driving to Purdue to party with my friends from home at Sigma Chi and B9, getting an A for my movie about urine for Jon Kraszewski's production as criticism class, spending St. Patrick's Day at an Irish bar in Boston, talking to an Irish guy named Dennis about music and life for the whole night, drinking scorpion bowls at a Chinese restaurant at 1 a.m., sitting in total darkness in Glen Gass' Beatles class and listening to a "Day in the Life"…\nI'll remember throwing my first house party, getting on top of the bar and leading everyone in a scream-along of DJ Kool's "Let Me Clear My Throat," throwing a schoolgirls/schoolboys party, dressing up as Optimus Prime for a Ninjas/Pirates/Robots party, "Hey Ya!," "Summer of '69," JP making me a better writer, Matt making me a better comedian, St. Patrick's Day in Costa Maya, human sexuality class, the Cubs coming so close, realizing I talk to the police really well, my neighbors banging pots and pans at 4 a.m., "I love you" on my roof…\nI'll remember the fall in Bloomington, that feeling of being back and free, the student section at IU basketball games, being on stage and making a room full of people laugh so hard they cry, Tom from TD's CDs and LPs, pointlessly arguing about movies and music, the people I met at parties and never saw again …\nI'll remember not having enough time …\nI'll remember leaving not knowing where I'm going -- only knowing where I've been … the place that brought me four years closer to discovering who I really am.