Scurria | Learning to enjoy the journey

Penn is the best four years of your life, I was told. And boy, was it ever. But at a time like this, who can help but think about regrets? I am now staring post-graduation life in the face, and I have to wonder if the years I spent here were enough to make me the kind of man I want to be.

The short answer is that it's impossible to know. But if I have become the kind of person a Penn man is supposed to be - upstanding, responsible, loyal and hardworking - it is because I've been taught, not because I discovered it for myself. So that means I have lots of thanks to give out.

First, my parents, Susan and Jim Scurria, who have never stopped seeing the best in me, even when I couldn't see it myself. They haven't always been at the top of my thank-you list, but today they are, like they always should have been.

Then there's my professors, who have given me every chance to learn, even when I didn't take it.

Next, I owe a huge thank-you to the Daily, the only friend I simply won't be able to avoid losing touch with. I walked into The Daily Pennsylvanian on the first day of freshman orientation, and for four years I never left. It would take countless columns to recount all the things this wonderful institution has taught me, but since my mug shot has already sullied the pages of this paper too many times, I'll just give a few of the things I am thankful for having learned.

I've learned that writing hundreds of articles won't make you feel whole, but that it can come darn close.

I've learned that it's all right if there aren't thousands of people reading your articles, as long as a few people who matter do make it past the jump.

I learned that if you have to ask "Why the digs?" it means you've probably missed something.

I've learned that if someone won't return your calls, it means you're probably on to something. And that if you keep at it long enough, you might just find a happy lobster waiting for you.

My last thank-you goes out to the athletes and coaches I have covered in my four years. I am grateful to all of them for answering my questions, whether they were stupid or not, and for giving me a small bit of insight into why the athletic tradition at Penn matters so much to so many.

But most of all, I am grateful for how they have showed me the value of being part of something greater than themselves.

Penn athletes are a special bunch. They sacrifice their time and energies for something that, unless you are a star shooting guard or quarterback, no one pays much attention to. Many of them could have gone elsewhere and gotten a scholarship, or simply spent their time at Penn loafing around instead of going home tired from hours of practice every day. But they do it anyway, indifferent to the lack of attention, knowing that it's the journey, not the destination, that matters.

Similarly, I could have gotten better grades, had more friends and consumed far less unhealthy late-night meals of Swedish Fish and Diet Coke had I not spent so many hours typing away at the Daily.

But I followed my gut, even when everyone thought I was crazy to put so much time into an article that most people wouldn't think to read.

From my time with Penn's athletes, I now know that the experiences I've gained at the Daily will stay with me all my life, even though what I produced every day would be all but forgotten the next.

My destination is still unclear. But I realize now that the journey is nothing that I should regret.

Andrew Scurria is a 2009 College graduate from Wilmington, Del., and is former Senior Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is scurria@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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