This week has already been quite eventful. Yesterday I somehow managed to not only successfully deliver a 15 minute presentation to my oral French class with some semblance of grace, but also the unconscious body gestures I used during the presentation also managed to make my classmates and professor laugh a little bit - and humor, I've learned, can go a great way in helping to ease tension and raise grades. And then there also came an email yesterday night from CEA informing me that I have officially been accepted into their summer program in Paris, something I have been waiting to hear about since January.
So with those two huge events behind me and me still riding in the euphoria of their passing, I decided on a whim to that I deserved a little self congratulatory present and the cute white and blue striped shirt I had my eye on yesterday in Zara seemed like the perfect fit. Soon the shirt was in my possession and a few minutes later I found myself in the H&M next to Zara with Darryl looking at a display of garden-themed t-shirts when I thought I heard my name.
I had heard my name. A guy I remember from my FREN 300 class approached me and practically screamed "Cole!" We exchanged a few seconds of casual conversation before he left with the two friends he is traveling with on Spring Break and I was left standing there in front of the badly-themed t-shirts feeling a little strange.
I realize I've only been here for a short time, but still it seems that Richmond was a past life and that the person I was there doesn't exist anymore. So to have someone from Richmond see me and scream my name was a bit unsettling, as if all the peace I have come to know here was suddenly shattered with the realization that life back in Richmond hasn't stopped with me no longer there.
I never expected it to. But lately there has been more silence from Richmond from my friends there. It's silly to be upset by such a small thing. I realize that life is busy and that sometimes things like emails and phonecalls slip the mind quite easily, but still the silence is deafening. Sometimes I even wonder if they will even remember me now that they can't see me anymore.
But hearing my name today, knowing that even after all this time I still look the same, I was reminded that either way life goes on. I still exist - I just exist here now.
So with those two huge events behind me and me still riding in the euphoria of their passing, I decided on a whim to that I deserved a little self congratulatory present and the cute white and blue striped shirt I had my eye on yesterday in Zara seemed like the perfect fit. Soon the shirt was in my possession and a few minutes later I found myself in the H&M next to Zara with Darryl looking at a display of garden-themed t-shirts when I thought I heard my name.
I had heard my name. A guy I remember from my FREN 300 class approached me and practically screamed "Cole!" We exchanged a few seconds of casual conversation before he left with the two friends he is traveling with on Spring Break and I was left standing there in front of the badly-themed t-shirts feeling a little strange.
I realize I've only been here for a short time, but still it seems that Richmond was a past life and that the person I was there doesn't exist anymore. So to have someone from Richmond see me and scream my name was a bit unsettling, as if all the peace I have come to know here was suddenly shattered with the realization that life back in Richmond hasn't stopped with me no longer there.
I never expected it to. But lately there has been more silence from Richmond from my friends there. It's silly to be upset by such a small thing. I realize that life is busy and that sometimes things like emails and phonecalls slip the mind quite easily, but still the silence is deafening. Sometimes I even wonder if they will even remember me now that they can't see me anymore.
But hearing my name today, knowing that even after all this time I still look the same, I was reminded that either way life goes on. I still exist - I just exist here now.
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