Oh, how moving sucks. I feel like it's the end of the year at college - except I'm missing the shared pain you get when you meet eyes with another college kid who is also dumping all their stuff in loose pieces, dangerously piled on top of each other into cars to take it to the next place they will keep their assortment of junk.
I haven't been as responsible as I should about moving so I think this Saturday - when we absolutely have to be out of the apartment - will feel like move out day at ASU. But luckily, I know I can do it, because I have done it four times before. I just hope I really follow through with that desire I get afterwards to throw out a bunch of my stuff because really who needs to own so many things it can fill up a couple cars?
Anywho - the point of this post is a thought that came upon me when finding a sweet parking spot in front of the bar where our friends were hosting a happy hour. There were a bunch of songs that while I was in college, I assumed would only feel like they applied to me at that time and I wouldn't enjoy it as much when I left school. One such song was on in the car - Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel - a song I always tried to force the piano players at The Big Bang in Tempe to play by giving them a twenty dollar bill. The line that stood out most for me in that song was this: "Cold beer! Hot lights! My sweet romantic teenage nights!" And it dawned on me that I am certainly having cold beer, hot lights, and sweet romantic 20-year-old-age nights. Which first made me want to find a better word for someone in their 20's, and then made me want to share with more people who are graduating that all these things that you think won't apply to you when you become an "old person," may not happen at all if you invest time in friendships, and make time for fun, even when you feel major adult responsibilities (like I don't know needing to move out of your apartment into a new condo...) weighing on you. We always found ways to take care of homework, part-time jobs, club leadership duties, and more in college in addition to enjoying our lives to the point of recklessness. I say drink an extra cup o' joe and deal with it - and you'll always have sweet romantic soul-recharging nights.
I wrote out a big long comment and then I failed to enter the "security words" correctly and then I pressed back and it all deleted. Blah. What I wanted to say is that your blog always inspires me to write in mine, and that I agree wholeheartedly with this post. Last night I turned on some awful rap music that I used to run around Tempe Town Lake listening to, and it brought back great memories. I don't think that part of my life was even that fun, but the best part about memories is that you can remember them however you want!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm coming to realize is my philosophy too, and the logic behind the phrase "I'll be responsible when I'm 30" that I uttered a few months ago, which I have a feeling will get pushed back to 40 when that time comes, then 50, then 60... :)
ReplyDeleteIt's why I've also kind of liked that saying, "I'll sleep when I'm dead." There really is very little in this world that we don't have room or time for if we want it badly enough. Of course, if you have a million things on your plate that you DON'T want there, it will feel like too much. And that's not to say we should all bust our asses and work 18 hour days pursuing anything and everything we want at the expense of our health and our relationships, because family and friendships and good health are items on that plate too. But if your life is filled with things you love, then you can find time for all of them, even if it's just in little pieces, and even if it's at the expense of a few extra Z's :)
Because really, at the end of the line, are you going to go, "Man, you know what I really regret in life? That I didn't get 8 hours of sleep on May 16, 2015." No, you're going to say, "Man, I remember *insert memory-making thing here* that happened because I made the choice to take a little kick to my comfort level for something I'll never forget."
Keep living like I know you do, Shannon, and hopefully you'll have many occasions to say that at the end of the line :)
Amen Sista!
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