The all-too-familiar chant of "We Are ... Penn State!" grows to become part of your vocabulary whether you are a first time visitor to Penn State's campus, or a senior staring graduation in the face.

It seems only natural to occasionally grow weary of the chants directed toward the on-campus tours or the opposing football teams come game day, but I ask you to stop and think about the statement "We Are ... Penn State" and what it has grown to mean to the countless people that make up the Penn State community worldwide.

With the valued tradition of Homecoming only days away, we should stop and reflect on what it says to have thousands of alumni migrate back to the cold and dreary State College nestled in a valley in central Pennsylvania -- our "Happy Valley" -- to attend pep rallies, a football game, and the hyped-up parade that incorporates everyone from Joe Paterno himself, to a fraternity that no one even knows exists.

Homecoming should not just be another football weekend, but instead it should show us that we are a part of an amazing community that does not die with "Pomp and Circumstance."

The alumni who take the time to remember the good ol' days should be admired, not looked down upon. They drag their children to see the same Nittany Lion crowd surf just as they did their first football game freshman year and make their spouse feel ashamed that they attended a school that does not have their own ice cream brand.

These people are trying to tell us -- the students -- that we are currently living in what they refer to as their "good ol' days."

Life does not end with college graduation, but an amazing chapter of our lives that can never be relived does.

If you believe Homecoming seems to be a custom that you can live without, create other traditions in your college life that can help you to make memories that last.

Every Halloween, plan to dress up with your friends and celebrate the holiday you have anxiously awaited for every year since childhood. Crack open a bottle of wine, carve some pumpkins, sing "The Monster Mash" and realize that just because it may not be socially acceptable to trick-or-treat at our age does not mean we can't have our own fun.

With Thanksgiving so close I can smell the bird in the oven, do not think you have to wait until Nov. 24 to have a decent meal. Make it a point to have your own mini-feast, or whatever your makeshift kitchen can handle, before everyone leaves for the long awaited break.

If your efforts are lost when your oven catches on fire, leaving you with turkey à la grizzle, at least you can look back and remember when the fire department came as unexpected guests.

Before we know it, the chapter in our lives known as "Fall semester '05" will be closed. Do not wish your time away -- "I can relax once this exam is over" or "I just want it to be spring break already."

If we can learn one thing from the people who passed before us it is that time flies when you are having fun. To be a college student is to define the word "fun" -- omitting the difficult exams, having to schedule a few 8 a.m. classes, and living with a roommate with an unusual odor.

"We Are ... Penn State," so take the time to enjoy it.