MA
Well, I am in Massachusetts. I had been gone for 2 whole years and being back feels... complicated.
On one hand it feels great. Really great. I have come back in the most deceptive time of the year; the sun is shining, the sky is clear, the air is warm, it is hot in the sunshine, cool in the shade, flowers are everywhere, the trees are filled with lush green leaves, everyone is out and happy. If I had come in 3 months this would have been a very different experience. However, the people would still be here.
Let me say, most of the friends that I have met up with have been great. It hasn't been awkward at all to meet up with all these folks that I hadn't seen in years. So far I have seen: Matt Austin, Masha, Ed Rand, Ruthie "george", Lisa Varno, Renee, James Oldfield and Price Grisham. I have also seen a bunch of "friends by association", those people who hang out with your friends, people whom you knew a bit but wouldn't consider friends per say. But at least I was with a friend at the same time, so it made it fine. The awkward ones are the ones you run into on the street or in a shop and you both know that you have seen each other around in the past but not enough to merit any salutations. So you both consciously ignore each other even though there has also been a mutual recognition. That happens a lot in Beverly MA, where the town seems to be some sort of Gordon College Alumni commune.
In a sense it makes me want to move back though. To live in a small community comprised by so many friends is definitely appealing. But at the same time it would be a pointless move. If I had already been living on the north shore at the time that I finished college I could have stayed, but to move back without a real life goal would be silly. Though I begin to wonder if there are better life goals than developing relationships... Looking back on my life, I am proud of my accomplishments, but I value the friendships I made along the way more than the accomplishments themselves. Would moving to a place for the sake of relationships alone be stupid? I don't know... that is what I did when I moved back to Spain after Oxford.
I'm not really considering it at this point, I have goals that I want to accomplish in Madrid now. It does make you think though...
Either way I am having a good time here... I will try to post some pictures (though I have taken few) and stuff later.
On one hand it feels great. Really great. I have come back in the most deceptive time of the year; the sun is shining, the sky is clear, the air is warm, it is hot in the sunshine, cool in the shade, flowers are everywhere, the trees are filled with lush green leaves, everyone is out and happy. If I had come in 3 months this would have been a very different experience. However, the people would still be here.
Let me say, most of the friends that I have met up with have been great. It hasn't been awkward at all to meet up with all these folks that I hadn't seen in years. So far I have seen: Matt Austin, Masha, Ed Rand, Ruthie "george", Lisa Varno, Renee, James Oldfield and Price Grisham. I have also seen a bunch of "friends by association", those people who hang out with your friends, people whom you knew a bit but wouldn't consider friends per say. But at least I was with a friend at the same time, so it made it fine. The awkward ones are the ones you run into on the street or in a shop and you both know that you have seen each other around in the past but not enough to merit any salutations. So you both consciously ignore each other even though there has also been a mutual recognition. That happens a lot in Beverly MA, where the town seems to be some sort of Gordon College Alumni commune.
In a sense it makes me want to move back though. To live in a small community comprised by so many friends is definitely appealing. But at the same time it would be a pointless move. If I had already been living on the north shore at the time that I finished college I could have stayed, but to move back without a real life goal would be silly. Though I begin to wonder if there are better life goals than developing relationships... Looking back on my life, I am proud of my accomplishments, but I value the friendships I made along the way more than the accomplishments themselves. Would moving to a place for the sake of relationships alone be stupid? I don't know... that is what I did when I moved back to Spain after Oxford.
I'm not really considering it at this point, I have goals that I want to accomplish in Madrid now. It does make you think though...
Either way I am having a good time here... I will try to post some pictures (though I have taken few) and stuff later.
Comments
Enjoy your time stateside!
you never came by before leaving...