Refreshing...

I love my friends very much. It was fun getting to know them in high school. It's been an honor to see everyone grow up in college. However, sometimes, it can be a refreshing break to just be around new people for a while. Every now and then, your usual friends' quirks can start to wear on you. Meeting new people a) gives you a break from the usual and b) allows you to appreciate your "usual" friends more.

The past few days have been refreshing. I have a temporary summer roommate in the form of Tyler Ceola. I gave him free reign to invite people over if he wanted. Pretty much every day this week, I've hung out with his circle of friends. It's fun to be around new people. It's fun to see people who have a sometimes different outlook on life than I. Several of these people are incoming freshman, so it's made me feel wise to give them advice about "Getting Around at the U of A." More than anything, it's caused me to remember what it was like when my friends and I used to goof off and do stupid stuff. I mean, these guys make videos, have a weekly boxing night, play music just because it's fun, and hang out to watch a TV show.

The last time we got everyone we know together to watch something was the Super Bowl. Music...it's still fun...but it also has this serious long-term side to it--the part that means we've got to be meticulous about every detail of a song and get serious about getting our music out. Weekly boxing? We never actually did that, but we did a lot of stupid stuff in high school and the summer before Freshman year. Make stupid videos? We haven't done that in a long, long time.

What's my point? My point is that I'm not too old to have fun. Just because I'm working to finish college (rather than start), doesn't mean I have to give up everything fun in my life. Why does getting older mean getting duller? I remember freshman year when we took random road trips no matter what classes we had in the morning. Now, I go to bed at 11:30 to get plenty of sleep for class. I want to enjoy college again.

I wish that all my friends could have a chance to hang out with some incoming freshman. I wish they could all be reminded of their first tastes of freedom. I wish they could remember what it's like to think you have the best four years of your life ahead of you--rather than looking at how much school is still left and groaning. As for me, I'm going to take this experience to the bank. I'm going to stay serious about school, but I'm hoping that I can start enjoying the rest of my life a little bit more.