It’s Been Two Years

It’s September 10th, 2017. My parents are driving me 4.5 hours to O’Hare International Airport. We say goodbye before security and I try not to cry, because I’m excited not sad, but my mom is crying, so I tear up anyways.

I have no idea what’s ahead of me once I land in Belfast. I don’t know just how the chilled air will cut through the thin sleeves of my denim jacket. I have yet to memorize the walk from Elms Village to the Lanyon building. I’ve yet to see the beauty of the rust-colored bricks and stone archways. I’ve yet to meet the friends whose friendship feels more solid now than it did during those tumultuous months of self-doubt and growth.

It’s September 10th, 2019. I’m writing at home, about to get ready for work at the coffee shop. I miss Belfast. I miss the excitement, but I have hopes and wherever I go next will be new and exciting, and I’ll learn and grow like I did two years ago.

It’s okay to miss a certain time period of your life, but try not to dwell and live in the past because one day, you’ll be looking back on the present, wishing it wasn’t so far away.