Closing Time

By the time the end of Spring Semester rolls around, I find myself getting nostalgic (more so than usual) for the faces and routines I'll have to say goodbye to, for now. 

When we're young, so much happens in such a short amount of time (cliché? maybe). We over-embellish and experience it all so deeply, stressing just as much over each exam as the last and mourning every heartbreak like it's the first. We're selfish and reckless and lost, trying to figure out how the 'best years" of our lives don't always feel that way... But we're also experiencing freedom without (real) responsibilities for the first (and likely only) time in our lives. Working odd jobs, sleeping until noon, late nights and old stories and a growing sense of self-awareness in the midst of it all. 

So as I look back (or ahead), I remember the time we danced to 500 Days of Summer in our room on a school night. Wearing all black to "themed" parties because it was the only color I owned. The night we showed up at someone's house (un)fashionably early. Kicking boys out of bathrooms for heart-to-heart girl talks and rescuing a friend from an angry middle-aged woman threatening to "kick her out of college" (... it's a long story). When doing nothing but talking, laughing, and binge-watching shows with the right person was better than a hundred nights out surrounded by strangers in sweaty basements. When you didn't realize the "best times" were the best times until they were over. 

I'm remembering everything now, indulging in nostalgic thoughts until I can safely set these things aside in my mind and make room for more.