Fiction vs. Reality

Part 1

            Walking down the driveway I could feel the warmth from the sun. I didn’t know if it was her doing it or if the sky decided to reflect my mood.  I was feeling good, but I definitely didn’t have the power to change the weather. The changes in my life kept weighing down on me, so I wanted to get away from familiarity and talk with someone new. It definitely helped.  

            “Thank you for talking with me.” I said. “I apologize for imposing. I know you are busy but I like talking to you.”

            “Oh. No problem.” Storm answered. “The future can be scary sometimes. Especially at your age, but how you manage the hand that is dealt to you shows much character.”

            “Yeah but my hand isn’t as bad as others. I just don’t want to feel like I am judging anyone or for people to feel like I am showing off my superiority.”

            “You aren’t.” Storm reassured me. I always looked up to her. Her gorgeous face, calm under pressure, her voice that can gain the attention of anyone anywhere, and even her comfort with who she is. I always wanted to be like that. Comfortable in my own skin enough that no matter what happens I can handle it with my head held high. I’m still learning but I’m young. I still have time. “What is happening to you has happened to everyone in this building. It may not be as obvious, but it is just as important. I am glad you came.”

            We reached my car. It was time for me to go back to my school. My school that had a whole class just like me but different from the students here. I wanted to see the difference. Determine which was the right course of action, and I got my answer. I was happy where I was. Just like Storm belonged at Prof. Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters I belonged at the school that found me. I was going to develop my future there.

            “Thank you for everything. You’re a very calming presence.”

            “It helps that I can control the wind and tell it to carry our problems away.” We both laughed at the joke. “Use that mind of yours. It is a very powerful tool. Knowledge is a powerful weapon.”

            “I will. I think I’m going to like being a super genius.” I got into my car after hugging her one last time and drove away. Watching her wave through my rearview mirror I thought to myself ‘I’ve always wanted to know everything.’   

Part 2

            Growing up is a universal experience. Everyone no matter where they are from has experienced what it is like to move forward with age, life, and experiences. I think it is most prominent in college. In college people are at the crossroads of being dependent and independent, a child yet not an adult, learning while teaching those younger than us what we know, and not knowing what lies before us after we walk across the stage. That uncertainty about the future makes us long for a time when we did not have to be concerned with what happens tomorrow, the next month, or ten years from now. We desire that time of bliss. I normally have that feeling the most when my birthday comes around.

            Every year for my birthday my Mom tells the story of when I was born. (As story the two of us share so forgive me for not telling it.) While she is cherishing the memories of twelve hours of labor I think back to all the Disney on Ice performances we attended, the ballet recitals I did with my friends from school, and receiving a new outfit every Easter. Every birthday I long for that comfort of the past to settle the anxiety about the future. I do not always panic about the future but when I do I look to the past to calm myself down. Give myself a feeling of happiness so that I do not start becoming pessimistic and thinking of worse case scenarios about what could happen after graduation. Those past gives me hope for a beautiful future.

            Nostalgia is another concept that connects everyone everywhere. Although we all feel nostalgia from different catalysts and our feelings of the past give us various feelings of the future the point is we all can sympathize with another person about this feeling because we have felt it before. My personal nostalgia helps me be positive about the future. A future I do not have all the answers to but will embrace when the time comes.