Related: This album art (auto-assigned by iTunes back in like 2005) would have burned into the screen of my iPod if it didn’t auto-dim. Homecoming by The Teenagers was my adolescent mantra that helped remind me that there was more to the world just outside of my isolated midwest life.
I’ve been pretty nostalgic lately. My time in high school has been on my mind. I remember sitting in front of my family’s iMac, browsing the UrbanOutfitters blog and FredFlare (RIP) while listening to whatever music the needle of my hipster compass pointed toward - almost every day. I mean, I didn’t spend all day doing it, but I spent a lot of most days like that. Otherwise, I was admiring my internet friends’ MySpace profiles. They all lived in California, a bit north of LA, and they lived a life that a midwest kid like me thought only existed in pictures. Which, I guess wasn’t so untrue.
The place I imagined really only existed in, well, my imagination. To an extent, it was real. The people who lived there were real - they were friends of mine who I’d talk to frequently through MySpace, and later Facebook. But truth be told, what I saw - what I wanted to be real - was mostly just fantasy. This isn’t meant to be melancholy or anything, to be clear. I’ve just long since taken off the rose colored glasses that was my youth and inexperience (and lack of any responsibility).
It’s 10 years later now. I have a steady job, I’m married, and I’m buying a house. I left the Central Time Zone years ago and now live in what is probably becoming California 2, the sequel. It’s beautiful where I live, and I can see traces of the life I dreamed of back then right in my own backyard. Old memories are stirring up from the dregs of my mind and bringing a new flavor to my life that I’ve probably needed for a while now.
That’s probably why I started this blog. I kept a blog and felt cool for keeping a blog. It was a tumblr back then, so why not now, too? Well, I’m starting to feel old again, so I’m going to end this here. Bye.