hey somebody. let me tell you something.

I no longer feel like a functioning member of society
… although I doubt I ever was …

In years past, my sister and I would sprint neck and neck for Chinese exported neon eggs nestled across the yard …
Overcome with adrenaline, we were coerced with the promise of milk chocolate and the occasion dollar bill folded like an American flag …
This was actually my first time to watch the engagement unfold from the sidelines …
I spent years honing my skills and reaching the peak of my physical fitness …
Then suddenly the age-old strive of egg hunting was taken away from me …
An unwelcome armistice …
I became “the hider” …
I became just another mildly tipsy parent gripping the best camcorder money could buy in 2005 …
Watching the troops wander back in droves, I prepped the new arrivals for their next deployment …
Counting the casualties …
Seeing the families reunite after a long days struggle …
That, is a beautiful thing …

Here is some terrible poetry, similar to that which you posted on this blog. It is from this website and it made me smile and think of you. Hopefully you will identify with the emotional depth and sensitivity of this poem.

“Going Away 2 College.”

Going away 2 college.
s0 f*ckng scared.
I have become a pretty popular and respected bro
at my high school

But I will throw all of that away
and go to college at a prestigious university
located within an authentic city
not just the state school within 100 miles of my home town.

My mom will go college dorm room shopping
with me
at IKEA, the Container Store, and Target
and we will get into fights about our vision of the room
(Don’t want it 2 look ‘too dormy’
Want it 2 be an authentic space.’

I hope my dorm room is the popular room on my floor
and that my roommate evolves into the best bro of my life.
We will join relevant on-campus groups
and also integrate into our local community
really ‘caring’ about the issues within our collegetown/region
more than we care about global issues

Maybe we will organize protests against our university
and chill inside of the cafeteria
liveblogging and twittering the whole experience
until the mainstream police barges in with guns
Photo via NYU Local

Might even volunteer to wake up early
and paint some stuff
or build some houses
then ‘party’ with the people who I bonded with
as the sun hits our white skin

I will become a new person
in college
in my dorm room
lurking facebook for girls from my classes who
I can pin my hopes and dreams to

One day I will move off campus
and live in a chill ass apartment
that smells like marijuana and body odor
that has a mix of ‘chill’ and ‘bad ass’ parties
becoming a relevant location in the local scene
It has a ‘bad ass’ flat screen that my roommates’ parents gave us.

Dirty bathrooms

Sometimes I will study
staying up all night
To do ‘okay’ on a test
and pass all of my classes
Proud of my 2.7-3.75 GPA because ‘I put like nooo effort into it.’

We will ‘party.’
We will be college students.
We will have fun.
We will find bros.
We will eat all of our meals on campus with
a relevant meal plan program

I will stay in college for _ years.

___________________
Do yall want 2 go 2 college?
Where do yall wanna go?
What do yall wanna learn?
R u in college?
What is/was ur fave part about being in college?

Watch this …. it can’t be enabled …

Senior year can be bitter.
I got lucky.
I have already gotten into one of my top choices.
I have already gotten into a handful of schools …
Everyone handles it differently.
It seems like most people either engross themselves with the past or the future.
While everyone looks forward to senior year, the present is usually left behind.
From fleeting die-hard parties to last minute couples …
Every action is deliberated committed to pass the time faster.
All of us are part of this giant prolonged moment.

As a person that deals with life as a novelty on the edge of losing its value, I like change.
But what can I say, I like Birmingham.
this next part will be interesting …
Senior year can be bitter.

This Saturday I made the trek out to PS1 MoMa with some friends and stopped my the graffiti haven, 5 pointz. Unlike 5 Points in Birmingham, this is an artist space and one of the only places to legally tag. It is Mecca to some of the most famous graffiti artists. Basically, It is a magical place.