Reflections On Leaving Virginia

Just a week ago today, I was packing up my disaster of a dorm room. People, it was a mess. A mountain of clothes surrounded my bed, making a pretty cozy tomb for the dust-bunnies and long forgotten textbooks underneath. On top of that, mine and Daniel's humble abode was basically a bog. For one reason or the other, water gradually seeped into the room under the linoleum for probably the entire semester. Stepping on one of the tiles (aka basically WALKING anywhere in the room) meant that putrid brown water would creep on up through the cracks. How do you like that? $12,000 and I was living in a giant swamp. At least it was a National Historic Landmark swamp. Cause THAT makes everything ok... But I digress. As I pitched my clothes haphazardly into one of my various suitcases, I was obviously pretty excited to go home to Tennhoessee. TV! Food! Stores/other civilization! My car! Adequate shower pressure! A living space that wasn't submerged in water! Family and friends! But then I started to find things tangled in the jackets and jeans that made me stop and think for a second. Flipbooks describing my adventures as a ninja. Hotel key cards from Marriotts all over the DC Metro area. The business card for "Lynchburg's Only Skyscraper Lounge." Shirts and books I had bought on trips to Roanoke. A crazy thoughtful card that two of my friends had made for me months ago. Suddenly, Tennessee seemed pretty lame. What was I thinking? Most of these people were going home for a couple of weeks. They'd chug some egg nog, get some presents, hang out with some old pals, and then return to their home in the slummy but somehow lovable Buena Vista. I, on the other hand, decided to shove off for China. Yes, I am moving to China. I can't say I regret my decision. As a guy who loves traveling, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. But try as I might, I can't control the consequences that come with it. It seems now that my friends and I have reached that age of perpetual motion. Our lives play out not according to some predetermined plan we create, but rather as a series of unforeseeable events that gradually shape us. We move from place to place, stage to stage, always having to leave great people behind. With this knowledge at the back of my mind, I set out to make my last day in Virginia count. I begged my friend Andrew for a ride to Wal-Mart. In his awesomeness, he obliged. There, I combed the aisles for cards that weren't covered in glitter. After deliberation, I found a set, bought two, and determined to let my friends know they would be missed. The rest of the night was spent engaging in various semi-legal shenanigans while also writing an individualized message to each of the 30 people that were on my "card list." I got the chance to hand out most of the cards on Wednesday morning. By the afternoon, I had packed my last bag and sold my last book. My dad called and said he was an hour away. Then 30 minutes away. Then, all too soon, he pulled up to the front drive of Thugz Mansion. My home. Some of my friends and fellow Thugz helped carry the behemoth suitcases down, and a two of my friends sprinted down in shorts and sandals to say goodbye. How could I not miss this place, these awesome people? By nature, I am a rolling stone. I hate staying still, and dying in the town in which I was born is basically my worst fear. But I also am a loyal friend, and I really am just a huge fan of people. So despite the fact that my friends and I will be tossed around all the corners of the Earth, living our crazy lives, I will fight the odds and keep in touch. Trust me, people, I can do it. Much like the bobcat peeing out his territory in the forest, I tend to leave my mark wherever I go. So I'm not afraid of being forgotten. I'm just too loud and too weird. I can't say I will ever be back to Buena Vista after I leave for China. Who on this bloody Earth would go there for any reason other than SVU? However, I do know that in the short four months I was there, my life was changed. And I won't forget it.