The end is upon us. Early fall, I hardly knew ya. And now that you are almost gone, I think it’s time to look back at some of the lessons you taught me over the past nine weeks.

Lesson #1: Blogging is much more time intensive then I ever imagined. And it takes a lot of practice to be any good at it. Folks that do this for a living must not have time for much else. Either that or they don’t sleep at night. Vampires would make superb bloggers now that I think about it. Count, the ball is in your court.

Lesson #2: IMC 619 is one of the three hardest courses in the program. It should be noted that I still have three more classes plus the capstone to complete, but so far I rank 619 there with 610 (a “shock and awe” introduction to online learning) and 612 Audience Insight (Two words. “Group” and “Project.”) I’m sure that others may disagree, but I rank 619 up there as one of the more demanding from a time and effort stand point. To be honest, however, I also consider 610, 612, and 619 to be three of the most valuable learning experiences I’ve had so far. The more you put into those classes, the more you get out of them. Kinda like vending machines.

Lesson #3: It is impossible to watch a Presidential debate while trying to write. Unless, of course, you are critiquing the debate. Which I was not. In fact, on three separate occasions I’ve tried to plow through a post, a paper, or a blog entry while listening to McCain and Obama vie for votes during prime time. Each time I came to the conclusion that it was more important for me to utilize what mental capacity I have left to sort through the stump speech rhetoric and try to decide who I will cast my vote for on November 4th. I’ve made my decision. I hope that you’ve taken the time to make one as well, and will join me a few days from now to decide who will be our next President.

Lesson #4: WVU’s tailgate experience is grander than that of the combined efforts of the three schools I’ve worked for in my career. You really must check it out if you have not already. It’s a sea of blue and gold. Country Roads and Cornhole. Controlled mayhem and controlled substances. A fantastic experience full of tradition and excitement. My advice is to plan ahead and make sure you include at least one game on your social calendar during the 2009 season.

And last but not least, Lesson #5: Parting is such sweet sorrow. It has been a blast holding down the fort as your IMC Student blogger this term. I hope you found some of my posts tolerable, and that occasionally you had as much fun reading them as I had writing them. On my way out the door, I would like to wish Nicola the best of luck as she takes over the reins of this blog for the late fall. As I’m sure you’ll soon find out, Nicola will bring an interesting perspective on the IMC experience; that of a student living outside of the U.S. I would also like to thank Nicola for being a loyal reader of my blog, and I promise to return the favor.

So, without further adieu, I wish you adieu, and leave you with these parting words:

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your lawn.
And until we meet again at graduation,
May your IMC experience be as fruitful as it has been for me.

Sincerely,
Matt