You could say that I️ live in the quintessential college house. Tiny, old, a little run down and filled with mismatched furniture from thrift stores, yard sales or family member hand-me-downs. All the same, they say it’s not about where you are, but who you’re with.
What really fills our house are fits of laughter. The smiling faces of new friends and old. The smell of burnt toast. Sweaters with mascara stained shoulders. Warm cups of tea. These are the staples of the lives that fill our humble home.
My chosen family finds a way to welcome my dreams and sunny day ideas into reality without judgment or question. A refuge to be myself, or find out whoever that is, away from the chaotic, and at times crushing, outside whirlwind.
It’s not over yet, and I️ already miss the college days of girl talks enclosed in pillows on the subjects of love and life. Our worlds have come together in complete coincidence with unlimited potential for which direction to go next. Oh, the places we’ll go.
We weave pictures together of lives to come over cans of spaghetti-O’s. “Do you think you’ll learn to cook when you have a family?” Well, “what’s my husband’s schedule look like?”
I️ cry with them because I️ can, and I️ laugh because I️ can’t enough. These people inspire me to be a better friend, to be a better professional and to be a better person.
We converge on the cusp of the rest of our lives, flopping down onto dusty cushions. But, I’d like to teeter on the edge just a little while longer. I️ have the rest of my life to jump. I️ am thankful for my warm bowl and the company it keeps today.
Emily Claire Smith 