Goodbye, Pitt.

I’ve been writing this farewell piece for years. It’s been churning in my… Goodbye, Pitt.

I’ve been writing this farewell piece for years. It’s been churning in my head since I first started college, but now as I write it, I am doing what I promised myself I wouldn’t do: get all sentimental.

Here’s how it was supposed to go:

“The trees of Oakland begin to rust as nervous students ebb and flow from buildings and navigate congested streets. Empty parking spaces are as common as Bigfoot sightings. Somewhere, parents are hiding tears as they send their children off into the big world. A new college year has begun … “

Pretty, huh? It was going to get nostalgic and let me flex those creative nonfiction muscles I’ve been building over the years and brag about how many metaphors and adjectives I can bench-press.

But instead, I’ll reflect on my college career — hopefully, you can learn from my mistakes.

First off, I’m starting with a confession: I’ve never studied Shakespeare. I have successfully dodged anything that some guy in tights wrote hundreds of years ago. Before you decry my lack of culture, remember that I’m a product of public education and thus have learned how to get by with as little work as possible. Besides, I’ve seen movie adaptations — I’m not missing much.

When I started college in 1997 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, I never thought it would take till I was 26 to finally graduate — yes, you read that right. My mistake at IUP was a combination of beer and too much work.

Fresh on my own, I made choices like going drinking instead of studying. Morning hangovers and a commitment to nothing assisted in missing classes. On top of this, I joined the school newspaper, The Penn, and went from writer to news editor in a matter of weeks. While I had been editor in chief of my high school newspaper, nothing could prepare me for the stress and long hours of being the news editor of a paper that came out three times a week. Consequently, I finished my first year at IUP with a 1.67 Q.P.A.

Oops.

The next year, I returned to Pittsburgh and took classes at community college, but the easy course load pushed me out of school altogether and into the high-paying field of gas station attendant. After a few months, my father convinced me to work with him as a painter, not of puffy clouds and mountain landscapes, but of walls — fun stuff for someone who never held a paintbrush before.

But I made good money and became complacent. I began telling myself that school wasn’t for me, that I didn’t need a degree to tell me how smart I was. Deep down inside, though, I was hurting. I knew better, but I needed a push. While spending a summer in Florida lounging on the beach, my mom surprised me by enrolling me at Point Park College. Even though the semester already started, the school accepted me.

As I packed my things for the trip to the airport, I dreaded the thought of going back to Pittsburgh, and wished for a reason to miss my flight.

Turns out I got my wish to miss my flight — it was the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

The guilt I felt that day, coupled with this life-changing experience, caused me to get my life on track. I returned to Pittsburgh later that month, but I was too late to start at Point Park. It turned out to be blessing in disguise — I enrolled at Pitt instead for the following spring semester. It was the best choice I’ve ever made.

Since then, I’ve taken as many classes as I could afford, working and financing my own education. It was hard in the beginning, but I truly feel that doing it on my own made me more committed to it. This December, I’ll be graduating with a 3.67.

And thus, I come to the conclusion of my time at Pitt. Finally, I can finish with pride and go off into the unknown with at least the certainty that I have accomplished this feat. It wasn’t easy, but I did it.

Along the way, I met good people and did great things. I’ve studied the ancient Greeks, Associated Press style and art. I’ve been part of the greatest organization on campus, The Pitt News, and the friends I’ve made are the greatest group of people I’ve been given the privilege of working with. My only regret is not joining the newspaper sooner.

So goodbye, Pitt, and farewell. I’ll miss you.

“K is for Kratsas, which is good enough for me.”

E-mail Nick congratulations on his graduation (and job offers) at [email protected].