wrote this last spring; it's still true

this is what life is about, really. it's about laying out on the quad on a warm day doing absolutely nothing even when you probably should be. it's about passion iced tea lemonades from starbucks, sipping them slowly in a booth with a friend. it's about meeting up at 8pm no matter what, watching american idol and squealing and critiquing right along with the judges. it's about riding your bike across campus, dodging passers-by, wind whipping through your hair.

it's about eating ice cream with friends, and then sitting for hours and laughing so hard your stomach hurts. it's about birthday plans and concocting dinners and surprises; it's about filling a friend's room with 120 balloons. it's about crying into each other's shoulders-- not so much about the crying, but more about who that shoulder belongs to.

it's about watching the glow of a million candles in the grotto. it's about the tulips that are finally beginning to peek out and bloom. it's about pealing bells of the basilica, waking you up on sunday mornings. it's about looking out your window and seeing the gold of the dome glinting in the sun.

we complain so much about school, about work, about teachers, about drama, about boys-- and in that, we forget about our youth. we forget that these are our golden years. we forget to let go a little, loosen up. in the words of a friend, we shouldn't worry: we'll find a way to be where we are meant to be.

i think it's time that i stop worrying, and start living.