A Regression of Patterns, for the Better
Stepping off of the Metro into the scalding heat of Long Beach, California, I am greeted with a tingling sensation across my arms. The heat bears down on me with an unrelenting blanket of discomfort, so I break for the shaded wall nearby. A few minutes pass of heavy metal Jamming and checking the Olympic feeds for recognizable names, before Sam arrives to save me from the sun. I’ve known Sam since I was 14 years old, and each time I see him, I’m met with the same giggles and laughs that we had when we were freshmen at Redwood Highschool, just 15 minutes north of San Francisco.
The overbearing sun of Southern California is a far cry from the cool temperate mountains we grew up in. Though our journeys could not have been more different since we donned our scarlet caps and gowns, we still find ourselves drawn to each other. For four years, he and I wrestled in the same room, shoulder to shoulder, and laid the foundations of our careers. The blood we drew, sweat we dripped, and tears we shed along the way, formed something of a magical bond that is unbreakable. The time we spend together is far between now, but each moment feels like a regression to simpler times, and I’m grateful to feel so simple for those brief moments.
As I shut the car door my eyes are met by 3 pairs. Sam, Simon, and Adrien, faces and names I’ve known since before I even had a paying job, sit with anticipation. Today was my birthday, and we had a full day of revelry planned. First stop on the trip was to get something to eat, then the shooting range, and finally to cap it off bar-hopping on the sprawling metropolis before us.
After about an hour of driving and listening to eclectic music picked from 4 very different music tastes, we pulled into the parking lot of a random In n Out burger. In n Out might not be the most lavish place to eat a birthday meal, but the company was more important. Crinkling back the striped wrapping paper of our burgers we sank in and prepared ourselves for the day to come. I had not seen Simon or Adrien in close to 3 years, and within that one hour of time, it felt I had transported myself back to 19. Laughing hysterically and far too loud for our own good, we forgot the world around us and existed without a thought beyond our table. The heat of chili peppers and the bite of onion filled my mouth as I cracked jokes and forgot about all the deadlines ahead of me.
This was all 3 hours ago. I’m still living this day right now. Yeah, I’m hiding away In a corner writing on my birthday while my friends I’ve known my whole life it seems, celebrate in the other room without me. It’s important for me to state this while I still can so that people will hear the message when it is valid. Jobs, careers, passions, all fade over time. None of us wrestle anymore, at all. We’ve all moved on in our lives. Though the bond remains tried and true. It’s important to remind yourself where you came from, and who was with you along the way because that's what matters in life. The people around you, who have been there through the tears, and the blood, and the sweat. Those are the people who will matter in the end, and it’s never too late to reconnect. Those people are forever and always. Sometimes we need a little high school in our lives to remember the best parts of us.
