Do you ever stop in a moment as you live it and realize, “Wow, one day I’m gonna really miss this?” That just happened to me while sitting at the dining room table of my little college cottage after registering for classes I will take my SENIOR year. Wow. My housemate and I had the same registration time and sat anxiously waiting for the clock to strike 9:00 a.m.
This time next year we will be gearing up to embark upon our next journey. To go out into the world and take our first steps towards a career and a family and whatever the hell we’re gonna make of the rest of our lives. Who knows where any one of us will end up. The future is full of possibilities.
But at this moment I️ see nothing particularly special, or out of the ordinary, which is what, to me, is so amazing. This is my day-to-day. My best friends surround me and fill our space with laughter, warmth, and conversation. Like any other morning, I️ hold a cup of coffee. The handle is smooth and warm to the touch. I️ have sipped out of the same mug every day since I️ got back from my spring break trip to Madrid. It is hand-painted from the flee market we got lost in on our last day in the city. How amazing I get to hold it in my hands every morning.
I️ feel so incredibly nostalgic for this moment before it has even passed. I️ love these people and this place. I️ love the fresh flowers Abby brings home from her serving shifts. I️ love the candles that Melissa burns when she is baking her famous cakes and cookies. I️ love that Julie somehow keeps this whole mess functional with her sharp wit and a sponge.
I️ love the clutter that has built up around us from countless memories and mornings when we didn’t have the energy to put anything away. I️ can look at the old can of sunscreen across the living room and remember summer days spent by the pool roasting in the sun because we forgot that spray bottle at home. I️ can look at the plastic bowl of pens and keys and headbands and cards and crap and remember the countless nights up drinking to those cards’ demands. How we’ve grown.
I️ want nothing more than to bottle up this air and keep it with me forever. If only I could breathe it in when I need a reminder of how wonderful life truly is as I move into a world of new streets and faces and air. But I’ll keep this moment instead in my memories. I️ will miss this, but I will never forget.
Emily Claire Smith 