There are many lessons we are taught in life. You know, like look both ways before you cross the street or eat all your vegetables. One that holds true for me, no matter how old I get, is trust your gut. It’s simplistic enough, but it’s something many of us don’t do when all rational thought might conflict with what our gut is pounding into our heads.

For Amy Ogden, a senior from Dyersburg, Tenn., Saturday is the last Homecoming she’ll spend dressed in uniform and surrounded by her fellow members of the Big Red Marching Band. It’ll be the last Homecoming she’ll wear her traditional black headband, something that’s not only exclusive to the baritone section of the band, but also something she considers a necessary part of her uniform.

Some people have it all figured out. From the day they’re born, they know the path they’re going to take in life. They know what career they want to have, the type of person the want to marry – everything. I’m not one of those people. I’ve tried. I’ve tried planning my life, following that path, or “staying the course,” as our friend “Dubya” would say.

Something’s been bugging me for a while. It’s caused me to lose sleep, have horrible days and develop an inconvenient twitch in the corner of my eye. It all started last week, after the torrential monsoon we experienced. I was minding my own business, dodging the mud puddles while walking to my car on Chestnut Street.