I fell in love with you at first glance. Call me superficial if you must, but your grandiose buildings and sweeping green spaces are enough to make anyone fall head over heels. Yet while it was your surface beauty that convinced me to transfer here, it was the community I found inside your walls that kept me coming back every night. I am enamored of the students, faculty and staff with whom I have shared the last four years. I cannot emphasize enough how lucky I was to be surrounded by so many driven yet amiable individuals. The passion you display for your work, no matter how big or small, is truly commendable. And yet the degree to which warm smiles and encouraging words circulate around campus alludes to more than merely a community of workaholics.

During my time here, I have been bestowed the nickname “Ninja Turtle Backpack Kid.” As such, I owe the deepest gratitude to each and every one of you. You were not obliged to indulge my various… let’s call them “antics.” Walking around aimlessly, picking up trash and listening to music is the thing I enjoy doing most in life (yes, I am just a little bit strange), so I am incredibly thankful that the Wash. U. community has been so tolerant to and receptive of my potentially obtrusive behavior. To those of you who have resented my noise, I apologize and extend an extra dose of thanks for allowing me to be myself regardless. This is obviously not the appropriate space to single out those who have had an especially profound impact on me, but I could not have made it through the past four years without you. Thank you.

I will give a special shout-out to the dining staff however: you are not only the best goddamn dining staff in the nation but easily some of the nicest and most genuine individuals I have ever met.

Over the years, countless people have asked me why I do what I do. I’ve given many answers, but the truth of the matter is I did it for myself. Initially. Over time, it has evolved into something more. Its no secret that life sucks sometimes. There is a whole lot of bad out there. With hope of combating this, I have sought to inject a little love into the world in any way I can. Maybe I succeeded, maybe I failed, but, in the end, all you can do is give it your all with the best of intentions.

I am not good at goodbyes. In fact, I am just awful at them. In the words of Smokey Robinson, “although I might be laughing loud and hearty, deep inside I’m blue.” This has been a painfully glorious last semester. My heart has broken a little more each day knowing the end of my time here was readily approaching. But the best things in life are fleeting. I have thought long and hard about what I could possibly do to reciprocate the kindness I have received from the Wash. U. faithful. Having determined that I could not possibly pay you all back in full, I chose to write this letter; a futile attempt to express the enormity of my appreciation.

I will leave you with some valuable lessons I have learned from the songs that are endlessly piped through my ear cavities:

“Leaving now, is that the right thing? I wonder, it scares me, but who the hell am I if I don’t even try?”

(“I Wonder,” ABBA)

“If I leave you it doesn’t mean I love you any less”

(“Keep Me in Your Heart,” Warren Zevon)

“I’m on my way, I’m taking my time but I don’t know where”

(“Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” Paul Simon)

“Let’s dance in style, let’s dance for a while. Heaven can wait, we’re only watching the skies, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst”

(“Forever Young,” Alphaville)

“Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand. With an equal opportunity for all to sing, dance and clap their hands”

(“Sir Duke,” Stevie Wonder)

“If you want to sing out, sing out. If you want to be free, be free”

(“If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out,” Cat Stevens)

“I don’t give a damn ‘bout my bad reputation”

(“Bad Reputation,” Joan Jett)

“I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints”

(“Only the Good Die Young,” Billy Joel)

“It’s a long hard fight to learn to care for each other, to trust in one another right from the start”

(“It’s a Hard Life,” Queen)

“Oh it seems to me that sorry seems to be the hardest word”

(“Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word,” Elton John)

“And if your dreams go bad, every one that you’ve had, that don’t mean some dreams can’t come true”

(“There is Always One More Time,” Johnny Adams)

“Don’t you give up walkin’ ‘cause you gave up shoes”

(“Ease on Down the Road,” Diana Ross and Michael Jackson)

“Are we gonna let the elevator bring us down? Oh, no. Let’s go crazy, lets get nuts”

(“Let’s Go Crazy,” Prince)

“Do you think I’d crumble? Did you think I’d lay down and die? Oh no. Not I. I will survive”

(“I Will Survive,” Gloria Gaynor)

“Love is not a victory march”

(“Hallelujah,” Leonard Cohen)

“Cause when I give my love, I want love in return.”

(“Mr. Big Stuff,” Jean Knight)

“Said I told you that I loved you and there ain’t no more to say”

(“Give Me One Reason,” Tracy Chapman)

“So tell me now, ‘cause I won’t ask again. Will you still love me tomorrow?”

(“Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” The Shirelles)

“I am strong. I am invincible. I am woman”

(“I Am Woman,” Helen Reddy)

“I pray every single day for a revolution”

(“What’s Up?” 4 Non Blondes)

“All the colors of the world should be lovin’ each other wholeheartedly”

(“Can You Feel It,” Jackson 5)

“All we have to see is that I don’t belong to you and you don’t belong to me”

(“Freedom,” George Michael)

“And freedom, oh freedom, well that’s just some people talkin’. Your prison is walking through this world all alone”

(“Desperado,” The Eagles)

“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds”
(“Redemption Song,” Bob Marley)

“If you want the world to know we won’t let hatred grow, put a little love in your heart”

(“Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” Jackie DeShannon)

“It don’t take much to put a little love in your heart. It don’t take much to sing this song”

(“It Don’t Take Much,” Al Green)

“It don’t come easy. You know it don’t come easy”

(“It Don’t Come Easy,” Ringo Starr)

“Planet Earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do”

(“Space Oddity,” David Bowie)

“Tell her about it, tell her everything you feel”

(“Tell Her About It,” Billy Joel)

“If that guy’s got into your blood, go out and get him”

(“Tell Him,” The Exciters)

“No, I don’t want no scrub”

(“No Scrubs,” TLC)

“Too ra loo ra too ra loo rye aye”

(“Come on Eileen,” Dexys Midnight Runners)

“Won’t you please tell me what we’ve learned. I know it sounds absurd. Please tell me who I am”

(“Logical Song,” Supertramp)

“We’re one, but we’re not the same. We get to carry each other, carry each other”

(“One,” U2)

“Philosophy is the talk on a cereal box. Religion is the smile on a dog”

(“What I Am,” Edie Brickell)

“I just believe in me”

(“God,” John Lennon)

“I have my freedom, but I don’t have much time”

(“Wild Horses,” The Rolling Stones)

“Somewhere I lost connections, ran out of songs to play”

(“Lodi,” Creedence Clearwater Revival)

“So you’re scared and you’re thinking that maybe we ain’t that young anymore, show a little faith, there’s magic in the night”

(“Thunder Road,” Bruce Springsteen)

“Too young to hold on and too old to just break free and run”

(“Lover You Should’ve Come Over,” by Jeff Buckley)

“We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl”

(“Wish You Were Here,” Pink Floyd)

“But my life, my love and my lady is the sea”

(“Brandy,” Looking Glass)

“And even if time ain’t really on my side, it’s one of those days for takin’ a walk outside”

(“Daydream,” The Lovin’ Spoonful)

“Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic”

(“Into the Mystic,” Van Morrison)

“I’m just glad to be here, happy to be alive”

(“End of the Line,” Travelling Wilburys)

“Since we’ve got to be here, let’s live…I love you”

(“Let’s Get It On,” Marvin Gaye)

“I wish I could say all the things that I should say. Say ‘em loud, say ‘em clear for the whole round world to hear”

(“I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to Be Free,” Nina Simone)

“What I feel, I can’t say. But my love is there for you, any time of day”

(“What is Life,” George Harrison)

“Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs and what’s wrong with that?”

(“Silly Love Songs,” Paul McCartney)

“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make”

(“The End,” The Beatles)

Never stop wandering.

Love Always,

“Ninja Turtle Backpack Kid,” “Music Man,” “Demetri”