Reason #89734895 why I love my SCHOOL!

So, it's no secret that I LOVE my university. It is the perfect blend of Old South traditions, new ideas, innovation, and all other fabulous things you can think of. I am not only a part of our fabulous pharmacy school, but I am also a very active member of the Honors College on campus. This institution was named one of Reader's Digest's top three Honors programs in the country, and it probably wouldn't be too hard for y'all to figure out where I go to school. One of the things that our Honors College does is host a Fall and Spring Convocation. For this, we always bring in big name people to speak to us. Last year, we were honored to hear from Thomas Friedman and some other wonderful and inspiring people.

Tonight, however, takes the cake. Thanks to our wonderful and generous benefactor, we were able to host General Colin Powell. He is someone that I have a great amount of respect for and tonight only solidified that respect. He was so eloquent and jovial. I felt like he was being so genuine when he spoke to us (impressive since we FILLED our biggest venue on campus). He talked about his time as Secretary of State and his life after stepping down. He spoke of the times of transition in our lives and how "whenever we feel down, go buy a Corvette. It really does help!" He explained why he chose to endorse Barack Obama and then told us that he still considers himself to be a Republican. It was so good to listen to all of this. He talked about the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan. He told us that Iraq is not a war we will win, but it is not because of anything we are doing, it is because of the people there. Our dedicated soldiers are doing exactly what they need to be doing and it was wonderful to hear. He talked about how we NEED to be in Afghanistan. How the people there will never be able to move on from their tribal fighting and wars until a STRONG central government is in place. They will not do this for themselves, we NEED to be there. It will take a long time, of course. This is not something that will be resolved in two or three years, it is President Obama war now.
General Powell spoke of his family and his life. How he has seen so much during his many decades of service to our country. The thing that stuck out to me the most, was, however, how much the rest of the world still looks to America as the example. They like us, they want to model their countries after us. The media can try to spin it all they want, but America is still the ultimate symbol of FREEDOM and CAPITALISM. No matter how much the media tells us that people in far off countries dislike us and think that we are arrogant, fat, self-centered people, this doesn't stop the many people from standing in line outside the American Consulates and applying for visas. They want to be here, because they know that we are doing something RIGHT!
It was so nice to hear all of this tonight. It gave us the boost that we needed for sure. Thank you General Powell. Your words were so inspirational and full of wisdom. We hope you come back to visit us soon. We will be happy to have you here again and show you our Southern Hospitality.