To My Friends

7.15.2010

The summer is over. According to the calendar it has a couple of months left, but as far as I am concerned, the summer is over. All of the good parts - hanging out with my friends, staying up all night, no school, no worries - have had their time, and it is now time for me to start working again.

The past month-and-a-half have been amazing - possibly the best 6 weeks of my life to date. I was with people that I loved, having as much fun as humanly possible, working on a film crew, and generally enjoying life. There were moments and hours when I just needed to get away from it all, spend time by myself or other friends, and time alone with God, but the experience of being with close friends for nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, was awesome. I grew really close to them, and I will always remember this summer.

Coming home was hard. Saying goodbye, not knowing for sure when I would see everyone again, not knowing if we would all ever be in the same place at the same time again, but knowing that I was going to be alone at home, was hard. I didn't say goodbye to everyone - I couldn't. So I said goodbye to a few people, and then I ran away from it all. I should have said goodbye to a few more people, but I couldn't stay any longer. I was at a point where I was either going to just leave, or stay another few hours and try not to break down for that much longer. I chose to run away, and cry on my way home in the car.

Yeah, this summer was that awesome. The tears that I shed were not tears of anger at having to end the summer, but rather tears of sadness mixed with awe at the beautiful thing that my summer had been. If I were to try to describe my summer, I wouldn't be able to do it. I can only try to paint a picture in your mind.

Imagine: Rain falling from a cloudless sky, over a plain swept with the wind, the long grass swaying back and forth. The stars filling the sky, so that everywhere you look, you see constellations and galaxies filling the heavens. Shooting stars, a wish made on every one of them. A gentle breeze kissing your skin as you lay back on a rooftop, almost asleep, but not quite. A young woman singing for her boyfriend into her phone, while walking along the canal at 2 a.m. A cyclist, riding his bike without hands so that he can play his guitar - 3 a.m. along the canal. All piled up on a single couch - meant for three people, they were five - so that they could watch a movie together. Late night walks, miles and miles out in the country - not getting back until the wee hours of the morning. Swimming in the creek, swollen by the thunderstorms - floating downstream, letting the current carry you gently.

This is just a small part of my summer, and yet, it encompasses most of what made it so special. There was the music, the movies, the talks, the things we did. Imagine, once again, all the things I just wrote about. Now add the people. Your best friends. My best friends. The people that you love. Doing all of those things, experience all of those things with them.

Caroline, Gracie, Nicky, Tyler - thanks for an awesome summer. I love you all so much.