Blast From the Past

Have you ever looked on your past and missed it? I know I have. It almost seems surreal and fake when you looked at who you used to be (either in high-school or college). It's like you want to go back to the "good 'ol days". 

It started when I bought a new computer, while transferring files over to my new computer, I found some old pictures and started looking through them. As I found more and more pictures of past relationships, experiences, and things that are no more; I began to grow sad and sorrowful. I wanted to go back to those "good 'ol days" and remake my past to get as much of it as I could. 

Back then, I didn't notice what was going on. I simply lived my life and didn't think anything different. I didn't think that those days were really the best times of my life. I had free time with good friends. We never knew what we were doing or what we were going to do. We just did what we figured was fun and enjoyed life. We made mistakes, we lived with regrets, we dealt with drama, we created laughs, and we had a blast. It was so simple. 

As time passed, we hung out less, friends got jobs, moved away, or moved on. Girlfriends became ex-girlfriends, and fun became planned time with the few that stuck around. We got our hair-cut, we got jobs, we enrolled in higher education, we started getting bills and time, started to become more and more precious. 

What I have to learn now, is that this is the way of life. Maturity sets in, you realize that there is a time to grow up and move on. And this is all okay, because you're ready to grow up. Growing up isn't bad, it's good. And those "good 'ol days" can become a beautiful memory of regrets and joy. And I can look at old pictures or videos with bitter-sweets thoughts. And know I had the time of my life, and hope to pass on that knowledge to my future kids someday and tell them, "kids, make the most of your youth, 'cuz once your up and grown, you'll be in a different stage of your life. That is the way of life". 

If people stayed kids forever, there would be a lot of problems in this world. Maturity sets in for a valuable reason. And good times don't have to stop, they just look different. 

So to finalize, I'm happy that I had the youth I had. And I can't wait for the next stage of my life, my career, my house, my wife, my new relationships to come. In fact, I think some have already started...