Blast From the Past

This past week seems to have been a blur. Papers are due. Presentations have been scheduled. Final papers are being assigned. Stress is increasing. Things are getting difficult and graduation is only 4 weeks away. Anne has been trying to put all the stress behind her and the other day entered my room with a hankering to play video games.

It started with a conversation at lunch about freshman year. We were reminiscing about the good days, when she was my roommate and she had the rights to use my video game system whenever she wanted to. This, of course, brought up the game that had taken over her life most of freshman year, an NBA GameCube game that was simply a 3 on 3 basketball tournament.

When we were freshman, this game ruled Anne's life. She would skip class to continue her season on the game, winning time after time and never putting the controller down for a break. She would save and turn off the television when she had to leave the room, but the game system would stay running, never being turned off so that Anne wouldn't lose any of her progress in her character's basketball season.

It was pathetic and we almost had to have an intervention to make her quit playing. Luckily, the summer had broken her addiction since she didn't have the game readily available at her home.

As we talked about this game, Anne decided it would be necessary for her to revisit her character and the season she had been doing so well in only three short years ago. When we returned from lunch, Anne took a seat in my green chair and started playing.

I did homework as she played and immediately I began missing freshman year, the stress free beginning classes and the countless fun memories I had with my friends. It made me realize how quickly the past four years have gone by, the ups, the downs, and the countless friends I've made. It's gone too fast and now it's over. There are so many things that I'll miss; Andy (my absolute best friend), the girls, Matt and Chris, and the free time I have to write. It's hard to believe that it's all coming to an end, but the future looks bright.

I watch Anne kick ass in each one of her 3 on 3 basketball match ups and realize that these are the simple times I'll miss the most, just hanging out and talking, watching her play a pointless video game because it helps her to calm down, breathe, and release some stress.