Requiem for my Atlanta Experience.

by Derryl

Ahh, so this is the moment – the one I’ve known would appear sooner or later ever since I arrived in the Deep South. My room is packed up, the car is ready to go… tomorrow morning I will be saying my last goodbyes to the city I’ve called home for over four years. Atlanta will remain on my list of “maybe’s” as I seek a job. However, I find it more likely that I’ll remain in Los Angeles, or continue elsewhere if it becomes a possibility. I’m eager to find myself back in China (having studied there this past summer), though that may be a few months away, at the earliest.

Of course, as I coast through this first week of my non-university life, I find myself reflecting on my experience here in Atlanta.

I arrived here in August of 2005, a starry-eyed, barely-seventeen-year-old California boy. I didn’t have a very solid idea of what I was getting into at the time… I knew that Atlanta sounded like an interesting place to be, and that the South was the dominion of rednecks, old money, and Bush supporters. Beyond that, I had hardly any clue about Southern history (which, in retrospect, is largely similar to my preconceptions thereof) or how people, in general, go about things down here.

As a freshman at Georgia Tech, I pledged at Sigma Nu fraternity. This decision, not very carefully made, has largely defined my experience in the past four years! I’ve had a complete blast with all of my brothers, seeing all kinds of crazy things that my (potential) children will probably never believe. I learned how to drink more alcohol than is typically advisable, how to cook shrimp like a Southerner, and how to stay up partying on the least appropriate nights possible. I also learned much about brotherhood, honor, and trust. It’s safe to say that Sigma Nu has overseen my transition from boyhood to manhood, though it’s not singularly responsible for that shift. I will certainly miss everyone from Sigma Nu (well, and the rest of Tech as well!) after leaving here tomorrow.

I will also sorely miss my peers in Science, Technology & Culture, as well as IAC at large (the Ivan Allen College is Tech’s college of liberal arts). I found such a nice home in STAC, and I wish the best to all my fellows who’ve just graduated, wherever you end up. The Student Advisory Board was also a defining experience for me, grooming me as a leader and planner. I hope that they continue in our worthy quest to better the IAC for future students!

I must admit, the intervening years have taught me to appreciate many things about the South. They’ve also convinced me that I would be much happier and productive elsewhere. It’s been a bittersweet time for me, for even though I’ve enjoyed myself, I can’t help but feel that I require a community of different sorts in order to remain intellectually challenged (and therefore, successful). The South, for all of its charms, is not a place for everyone.

I’m sure that I’ll have some further thoughts on things after returning to LA, so I won’t beat this into the ground – distance breeds objectivity, which might be in order lest I appear too cynical about ATL!

For the time being, I look back fondly on some of my favorite experiences down here: NASCAR races at Talladega, beaching in St. Simon’s, shooting guns and riding four-wheelers out in “the sticks”, the A3C Hip-Hop Festival, eating at Chik-fil-a and Fat Mat’s, meeting my girlfriend, etc….. you’ve truly shown me a good time, Atlanta!

Tomorrow, I’m California-bound via New Orleans (the first night), Austin, and Phoenix. Might be my last cross-country drive for a while…