Bits and Pieces

I've started the dreaded task of cleaning my room. No, I don't mean just putting clothes in their drawers and books back on the shelf. No, the cleaning I'm talking about is FAR worse. It's the deep I'm-going-to-college-in-three-months type of cleaning. Empty the contents of every drawer and decide what to keep and what to toss. Stand on a stool and inspect the top of the bookshelf and underneath the bed where lost items have been rediscovered. With every item I find, there is a story and a memory that flies back into my head. Good memories, bad memories. The ones that make me laugh and the ones that make me cry. This is what the next three months will be for me: an uncovering of the years past and an uncertain anticipation of the years to come.

It started with the dresser. I opened each drawer pulling out hings that were once adorable and over the years, have evolved into a horrible fashion statement. I pulled out all the T-shirts from all the clubs and events throughout high school, the ones that at one point were purchased to be pajama shirts. I soon realized that one can only have so many pajama shirts and they have become significant enough that they will be turned into a quilt that will journey with me into the dorm. The dorm, the dorm...what else will go with me there and what things will be left behind?

I started to look at all the picture frames, which are so hard to get rid of. I found one with six different squares, each one filled with a photo of someone who has made an impact on my life. Grandpa is in the first square and I realized at this moment how much I truly miss him. Then there are friends, siblings and youth leaders who have all been there for every play, all the tough times and countless times filled with laughter and joy. Then I began to uncover pictures and treasures from my middle school days. Pictures of old classmates and crushes and the box of poetry written in the seventh grade. The poetry brought to mind an unforgettable story.

I came home after school one day with the poem in hand. It was about pets and it rhymed, but I learned that day that just because it rhymes, that does not make it a great work of poetry. My mother, in an odd attempt at being humorous, read the poem and said it was crap. I began to bawl because the pride of my work had just been ripped to shreds. It seemed horrible then, but after reading the poem five years later, she was right: It WAS crap (and, to be fair, she was quoting a movie. I didn't realize that at the time.) And, like most cases where she is right, I will try my hardest to forget about it.

Very few things went beyond middle school, except for a few school projects from my elementary years, which will be added to the memory box. But the memory box is full of even more stories that must be saved for another time. If I uncover all the treasures right away, it will all be over to fast, and I can't have that, now can I?

New York, New York

When I first stepped out of the train from New Jersey to New York, I wasn't thinking about New York, I was thinking about where I could find the closest restroom. In New York, the closest one was certainly not close and I was not happy with the busy city the first moment I arrived there. "Will the whole trip be like this?" I thought to myself. Then I responded to myself "No, it couldn't." And it wasn't. The trip was wonderful from the first taxi ride to the last Broadway show.

I went to New York with two friends, Lisa and Lindsey, and we had been planning on New York since our freshman year. Lindsey is our mentor, you see. She is the one who has met with us every Sunday for four years and given up her own free time to help us grow into who we are right now. Lisa has been my closest friend since the age of five and our friendship has stood the test of time. So, when we wanted to go on a trip and we each started a coin jar to create spending money from loose change, we decided on New York. New York is the place to be, with its bustling crowds and busy streets. It's the city that never sleeps, and we are the girls that never sleep, so it seemed a perfect match. What we all quickly discovered is that it was a perfect match...for all of us, each with our own reason. Now, I cannot speak for the other two, but I can definitely speak for myself and I could give you a hundred reasons why New York truly is the place to be. I won't give you a hundred, but I will at least give you a few.

For me, of course, Broadway is an obvious one. The lights of Broadway were as bright as I imagined and there was a theatre on every corner, which, for me, was heaven. Although the theatres were smaller than I had built in my mind, the shows were more extraordinary than anything I every pictured. They were overflowing with talent and artistically, I haven't seen anything so remarkable. The actors were able to draw me into the story from the very first note they sang and I laughed and cried through the entire story. That is when theatre is truly amazing, when you are transported into another world and you entirely forget where you actually are. Broadway did exactly that and it was absolutely amazing.

The diversity of New York was so interesting to me. Everywhere we went, you could never see an obvious racial majority. You could sit on the subway and the people across from you were speaking french while the woman next to you was wearing a sari. We ate dinner in Little Italy and as soon as we crossed the street, we were in Chinatown. There were people everywhere and you could always have an interesting conversation with anyone (who was willing to share....) So, between the people we met and the food we ate, we experienced at least a dozen different cultures all in one place.

All in all, New York was a wonderful place, but, like the end of all journeys, it was nice to come home. The one thing that New York City lacked was peace. That is why Seattle will be the place that I call home and the place I always have a hard time leaving: It is a place where even the most stressful day can end in peace and peace is what every person looks for, but not every person can find. So, thank you Seattle, for the peace you bring to my life.