Longhorns and Totem Animals

(This is one of my favorite songs, and I've been waiting for the right time to use it. Finally! Lyrics here)

The history of the longhorn is written all over the spirits of Texas and UT

On very lazy Sunday mornings, I sometimes eat at a table in Kinsolving that has a very large painting of longhorns overlooking it. The painting describes that the longhorn represents independence, fortitude, and adaptability, for “he moved elementally with drouth, grass, blizzards, out of the Arctic and the wind from the south” (X819). These are also the characteristics the University of Texas hopes to instill within its students, thus why the longhorn is the mascot. Of course, to my friends from camp, the longhorn signifies only a lethargic and slightly dumb animal. These are also the friends who have come to associate Texans with chewing reeds, playing banjos, and wearing boots with spurs.

Texas is one of the few places where passersby smile back

I have lived in other states before moving to Texas, and I can say that Texas is a state that I’m proud of. I have never felt a greater sense of pride and camaraderie here, and I believe that the University of Texas tries to keep the independent Texas spirit alive with the idea of the longhorn. “The Longhorn comes to connote courage, fighting ability, nerve, lust of combat, efficiency in deadly encounters, and the holy spirit of never-say-die.” (X886) Although many of the students at UT are not hoping to engage in battle or such “deadly encounters”, the fighting spirit of the longhorns is something that all students have learned to appreciate in themselves.

Another connotation of the longhorn is his love for the places he came from, something that UT takes great pride in. Not only does this school hope to educate and mold its students into freethinking, passionate, and successful individuals, but it also wishes to instill the love and pride of home, of the university. “The Longhorn was also a home lover and a persistent returner to his querencia” (X820). As these students are out forging their way in “No Man’s Land” (X825), they also remember the place they came from, the place that allowed them such opportunities. They remember, and they are thankful, even nostalgic, and when they return, they return with love and a sense of pride.

“Last night, I dreamt I was chasing a pack of wolves, trying to belong.”

For UT, the Longhorn is the “totem animal”, the one with which the University and its students feel the most “similarity and unity” (X901). My personal “totem animal”, with which I feel “the psychological…kinship” (X901), is the wolf. It inspires in me both awe and fright, for it is mysterious and savage, harkening back to the old secrets of the world. I identify greatly with the wolf, for it is close with its family, yet also a loner. Its territorial habits, the way in which it cares for the members of its pack, and the haunting, forlorn sound of its howls all fascinate me. To me, wolves are mythological, magical, and beautiful creatures.