Welcome back!

As a nerdy kid, I never bemoaned the end of summer. I literally counted down from Labor Day, ensuring my pleated uniform was hanging at the ready, my blouses were crisp, and my library card was new. I loved absolutely everything about school (nuns notwithstanding).

Perhaps that’s why I find myself in this perpetual state of student-hood on your college campus — endlessly torturing myself with “homework” and deadlines to keep you informed about the wonderful things that happen here.

This is your day, no other!

Many of you returned to Ann Arbor this weekend to celebrate Homecoming. It’s a magical time to reflect on the past and reconnect with the place that helped form the person you are today. I invite you to watch this video produced by Bob Berg and Michigan Media and reclaim that feeling of awe and inspiration that washed over you that first day you realized you were a Michigan Wolverine.

“Level Up,” written by singer-songwriter Vienna Teng, MBA ’13, reminds us to remember who we are, where we came from, and where we are going.

“Call it any name you need,” she sings. “Call it your 2.0, your rebirth, whatever … So long as you can feel it all, so long as all your doors are flung wide … Call it your day number one in the rest of forever.”

Bring your wonder

My hope for you is that Homecoming is an annual reminder to embrace that glorious feeling that anything is possible. If you couldn’t be here this weekend, simply crank the volume now and remember that at Michigan,

This is all we need
And this is where we start
This is the day we greet
This is the day, no other

That’s right. Sing it, girlfriend.
 
 
(Lead image by Michigan Photography.)