It’s just past midnight on a cold night in early December. I sit at the living room table inside my small apartment just off of Main Street. With my head resting on my hand, I look over The Spartan Newspaper clippings that I’ve scattered across the table.

The clippings are tokens of the past. Artifacts that hold the stories I’ve told in my time as a contributor to The Spartan paper. While my hair continues to go grey, the black ink of the articles begins to fade against the off-white hue of the newspaper.

A single tear falls down my cheek like a slalom skier racing down a mountain. The tear leaves my face and crashes on the table. I know my time as a writer for The Spartan Newspaper has come to an end.

Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit. I guess that’s just how I imagine a long-time staff writer coping with his/her retirement. I’m not retiring, my hair isn’t going grey, and unfortunately the only thing that makes me cry is the scene when G Baby dies in the movie Hardball.

I will be graduating at the end of the semester, meaning this is the last time I will ever write something as a college student. Looking back on my time at Castleton, it became obvious that many of my best memories were a product of sports, both as an athlete, and a fan.

As a member of the men’s soccer team, I had the pleasure of playing in Spartan Stadium. Every time we traveled to another school to play on a lumpy grass field, I appreciated the turf we have a little more.

I never won a conference championship, like many of my fellow Spartan Athletes have (but beating Middlebury on senior night was close enough), but the friendships and the memories I gained are far more valuable than any trophy.

While I enjoyed being on the field more than anything in the world, I had a ton of fun being a fan. Whether it was a hockey game or a basketball game, consuming beverages with my friends and proceeding to yell nonsense at opposing teams was a delightful experience.

Sports play a huge role in enhancing the college experience, for both the athletes and the students that go to support them. While I will move on from Castleton and hopefully get a job and make millions of dollars, I recommend that you participate in the experience that college athletics provides for everyone involved.