Dear Class of 2020: ‘Somewhere Between ‘Hello’ & ‘Goodbye’

Retired UM Dean of Students Sparky Reardon. (Photo Courtesy Ole Miss)

Dr. Sparky Reardon retired as the Assistant Vice Chancellor/Dean of Students at the University of Mississippi after serving the university for 36 years. Written below is his traditional annual letter to the incoming freshmen class.

To the Class of 2020:

Somewhere between “hello” to Ole Miss and “good bye” to Ole Miss there’s a lot that goes on.

You didn’t have to say hello to Ole Miss, but you have chosen to do so. You’ve said hello to a beautiful campus with tons of tradition. You’ve said hello to a small room that you will share with someone that you might not know but to whom you will also say hello. You will say hello to classes, to late night conversations, to parties, to road trips, to questions to which you might not be ready to respond, to ideas which you might not be ready to embrace, to books that will change your life and to books that you will never finish. It will be easy to say hello to those you know. It will be easy to say “hi” or “hi, y’all” or “howdy” or “wassup?” to those who might be like you. May I suggest that you learn to also say “ciao!” or “hola!” or “salut!” or “ni hao!” or “marhaba!” or “shalom” to those who might not be like you but might appreciate your welcome?

“Good bye” is impossible without first saying “hello”.

What goes on between “hello” and “goodbye” is what really counts. Your actions in the interim will make your “goodbye” easy and complete. What you learn between “hello” and “goodbye” at Ole Miss will form who you are and will be the foundation for the life that you pursue and the legacy that you leave to the next generation. What happens in the interim will help the person you are meet the person you will be.

In May of 2020 when you turn in your cap and gown, when you turn in your last exam, when you’ve had your last night on the Square, when you extend the hug with those you will miss, you will say goodbye to Ole Miss. The good bye will be made easier by what you’ve done between now and then. My wish is that you will look at Ole Miss and these next four years in your rearview mirror without regret and with heart full of memories.

In between, learn to listen to others; not just with your ears, but also with your eyes and your heart. In between, hold a withered hand and fluff a pillow for an old, gray head. In between, hold a tiny hand and slow down or speed up as that little hand leads you. In between, stay up with a few friends until the sun rises and contemplate the meaning of life. In between, write a letter and thank someone for helping you get to the in between of the “hello and the “goodbye”. In between write a poem, or paint a picture, or build a house or compose a song. Argue a point in which you believe. I hope that you fail in between hello and goodbye, for only then will you learn to succeed. In between, reach down and pull up a friend from a low place. In between the hello and goodbye, take the first step to finding a cure for the incurable, to righting a wrong, to doing for those who can’t do for themselves. In between, write the outline for the next great American novel or devise the plan that will broker peace in warring lands. In between step in, stand up and speak out where someone is being bullied or victimized. In between learn to be quiet and listen to that small voice within. In between, learn to speak for those who have no voice. In between, love somebody.

Every day in between, if you learn to live and to laugh, to love and to cry, your goodbye to Ole Miss will be easy, free of what ifs and regrets.

First, you say hello.

This is dedicated to a freshman I met in 1990 when we first said hello in the halls of the Lyceum. I said goodbye to him on Sunday. It seems hard now, but is easier because there are no what ifs, no regrets. Thanks for making me smile, Michael Perry.

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