Connecting There

 

It was a warm, crisp late afternoon driving to meetup with an old acquaintance who had semi-recently moved back to the area. Memories came back to me of driving similar roads during my undergrad, and of one stark memory of a wet and pouring rainy day to a job interview in that city. A few years have passed since then and parts of them I am grateful for, keep close to my heart and some feels just like a blur of challenges and isolation. It was so good to meet up with this contact, whom I haven't seen for nearly 10 years! Life has unfolded continually; a new layer being uncovered like a sweet onion. There was so much to catch up about. 

Meeting at Starbucks was a good place to start, with our sweet drinks, the sun was strongly glowing in the background outside, until the air released its chill, so we decided to head inside. Our personal journeys and stories have some overlap, and just where we are at, there was a lot of comfort and consolation in that as well. We are both pursuing higher education and that in itself has its own understandings, demands, discernments, adjustments as well as growth. I felt so inspired. It's a rarity that I connect with someone and meet up with them on a weeknight. It felt like life was giving me a big hug after the very raw, intense, lonely and independent time in my undergrad. 

As I was driving back home, with the city lights, hills facing the downhill slope; I took the same road for 3 years commuting from school and back, I could feel the growth, and experiences all come together. If I could tell myself 5 or 6 years ago, it would be what I was feeling in that moment coming back home. Suddenly, my experiences didn't feel like nothing, or just an end in themselves. I felt stronger, more reassured and even blessed with all those hard and beautiful moments come into realizations. I would tell myself again and again, 'you are not alone. And your experiences are not just for you but to share and connect with others. Nothing is wasted.'