tidings.

i ran into an old friend this afternoon.

actually, an old best friend. someone with whom i was inseparable for the better part of five years.

obviously, we both changed significantly in those five years - in opposite directions. for a long time, i could barely stand the sight of her. she had trouble dealing with the fact that i was moving to the left. i had trouble dealing with the fact that she was moving to the right. i couldn't understand why she wouldn't accept who i wanted to be.

i was, after all, seventeen.

now, she has a four year old son (who's about six feet tall) and i'm a little more tolerant. actually, a lot more tolerant.

which makes it sound like she needs to be tolerated; this is not, in fact, the case. it speaks more about who i was than who she was (and is). i was on shaky ground during my later adolescence, desperately trying to figure out who i was while utterly terrified that the answer was going to devastate me. i had an image to maintain and she really didn't fit into it.

i could have let it fade out in a simpler, kinder way than i did. but i sort of dropped everything and ran.

i don't think i can take all the blame here, honestly. who isn't afraid of cheerleaders?

still yet, it was really nice to see her.

[ps: i just registered for the last six credits of my undergraduate career.]