So, I'm in my late twenties now. Yep, just this past Sunday, I made that jump from a bright-eyed 25-year-old to feeling like, "I'm too old for this," with hangovers that linger for an eternity, realizing I can't party like a 21-year-old anymore – I'm a 26-year-old woman now. Ugh.
But despite the aging pains, I had my study abroad crew in town last weekend to celebrate my birthday, and of course, it turned into a full-blown party weekend. Having them around brought back waves of nostalgia from nearly five years ago when we first met during our Australian study abroad adventure. Back then, we were wild, carefree, and brimming with excitement for our futures.
I used to be afraid of so many things, that I'd never grow up, that I'd be trapped in the same place for all eternity, that my dreams would forever be shy of my reach. It's true what they say, time plays tricks on you. One day you're dreaming, the next your dream has become your reality.
And now that the scared little girl no longer follows me wherever I go, I miss her. I do. Because there are things that I want to tell her, to relax, to lighten up, that it is all going to be okay. I want her to know that meeting people who like you, who understand you, who actually accept you for who you are will become an increasingly rare occurrence.
W & B, these people who contributed to who I am, they are with me wherever I go. And as history gets rewritten in small ways with each passing day, my love for them only grows, because the truth is it was the best of times. Mistakes were made, hearts were broken, harsh lessons learned, but all that has receded into fond memory now.
How does it happen? Why are we so quick to forget the bad and romanticize the good? Maybe it's because we need to believe that the time we spent together actually meant something. That we were there for each other in a time in our lives that defined us all. That time in our lives that we will never forget.
I can't swear that's exactly how it happened. But this is how it felt.
No comments:
Post a Comment