The Easiest Decision I Ever Made

By Anna Ware Brown

IMC Student

I am not sure that I chose Ole Miss as much as Ole Miss chose me. For me, there was no real choice. For as long as I can remember, Ole Miss sat alone at the top of the list; no other school could even come close.

Even though my parents and I have lived in four different states, I always knew that Ole Miss was the school for me. When we lived in downtown Austin, Texas, and everyone around us donned the Longhorn burnt orange, my family fearlessly repped the Red and Blue. When I was in high school, my parents offered to take me on an extensive college tour. In our hearts, we knew that was pointless. I was a Rebel through and through.

I guess you could say that I “came by it honest.” Four generations of my family on both sides, over 100 people, have graduated from Ole Miss since the early 1940’s. According to family legend, even my great-great grandparents who lived in Abbeville, attended in the 1920’s.

My great grandparents, grandparents and parents all met at Ole Miss. Our house is filled with Ole Miss football memorabilia, including my dad’s old football helmet and my grandfathers’ old M Club blankets.    

My older brother, Ben Brown, a third-generation Ole Miss football player and chip off the ol’ block, recently finished his five-year long career playing for the Rebels.  I have grown up coming to football games and walking through the Grove in my grandfather’s old jersey. However, I do not think anything could compare to proudly walking through the Grove decked out in my big brother’s 55 jersey and game day button.            

Ole Miss just feels like home to me. It always has; it always will. Now that I am here, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is exactly where I was meant to be. From the moment I stepped onto this campus and into the Grove, I would never be able to go to school anywhere else.

I consider it an honor and a privilege to be an Ole Miss Rebel. Ole Miss is my dream school. Ole Miss is HOME. Ole Miss is the easiest decision I ever made, and there is nowhere else that I would choose to be.