Bye Bye Boston

I really really love how Boston looks from the air. I remember when I arrived seven years ago to start school, I nearly missed the view as we flew over and into Logan Airport. I was completely absorbed by my brand spanking new Dell laptop, back in the day when playing solitaire and pinball on a computer seemed to me the most logical (and entertaining) way to kill a few hours on a flight. It weighed a ton, but I was so excited to own a LAPTOP, I didn't care that I'd essentially bound myself to a really expensive pain in the ass for the next four years. Anyway, there I am, mindlessly clicking away on the virtual deck of cards, when I glance over to the window for no reason other than to give my eyes a rest. And there's Boston, revealing itself to me in its full autumnal glory. I remember the greens, golds, and reds of the turning leaves. I remember brick buildings and thinking how very different it all looked from Miami, how much older. Boston is an old city, a city with so much history, I felt overwhelmed watching it from up top.

It's funny what happens when you fly. How being suspended in space and time, we can tune into ourselves in ways that are near impossible to realize when we're weighed down by solid ground. How within seconds of takeoff, as we gain altitude and put so much distance between ourselves and our terrestrial environs, our perspective is completely altered as we are forced to fasten our seatbelts and consider the bigger picture. If you happen to be from, say, Boston, you might look out the window and try to spot your house or search for familiar buildings, landmarks. The Hancock building. Boston Common. Harvard and M.I.T. I always overhear parents playing this game with their kids and think, as if the rest of us aren't doing the same thing!

But when the city is new, it's an entirely different experience. Looking out of my window that day in September of 2001, I wasn't sure what to look for. I think if I'm honest with myself, and as much as it makes me cringe, I was looking for the cheesiest things. Where I would study for exams. Where I would go for picnics with my COLLEGE friends. Where I would fall in love and where I would steal kisses before class. Would I even make friends? Would I be happy?

In continuing my tradition of laying the cheese on thick during moments of transition, I'm going to answer that question with a resounding yes and follow up with a laundry list of what I see now as I fly over Boston (en route to Lyon, by way of Dublin):
- Winthrop House. Working on my thesis in our senior year room while Phoebe fiddled with her record collection before landing on "Graceland."
- Sledding on dining hall trays in the MAC Quad.
- Harvard Square after the first snow of winter, the streets all quiet and shimmering.
- Veggie Planet. Basta Pasta. Spice. Indian brunch. The Cellar.
- Charlie's Kitchen.
- The bathroom of Charlie's Kitchen.
- DRCLAS. DRCLAS people. DRCLAS parties.
- Harvard in the spring. Trees, flowers, and smiles in bloom.
- 45 Walker Street back in the day.
- Running on the Charles.
- Max, his car, and blasting Britney Spears as we drive through Copley.
- Lazy Saturdays with the Dartmouth crew.
- Razzy's. Quizzle tearing it up at Razzy's.
- Sketchy Saturdays at Phoenix Landing.
- Kristin, and more smiles.
...and many more.

I suppose what I'm leading up to in a pretty self-indulgent way is the fact that I could not be more grateful for the experience of my life right now. And that life has been Boston for so many years, it's not without a heavy heart that I look down and say, "Bye bye, Boston." To Boston, and to my Boston family, I say thank you for being so generous and good to me, and know that I will miss you dearly over the next seven months. I could not be in a better place than I am now, at peace, and so content. For this I also thank you.

Oh and to any of you who may be reading this, come visit! I promise the only cheese I'll serve up will be on a plate, preferably in the form of a ripe Brie or Camembert.