Ithaca Reboot

Let me start off by saying I am a blessed person. I'm not one to brag about how things are in my life or how lucky I feel, but in this instance, I will.

This past weekend may very well go down in my memory as my best weekend thus far alive. Now, I know it seems like a stretch, but it really isn't.

Everything about Ithaca was perfect.

I'm not going to go into detail about everything I did - but rather, why I feel so lucky.

I have an amazing support system of friends. I arrived in Ithaca earlier than I planned, around 9 am, and I already had a friend waiting at the airport to get me - one who had class later in the day and was still willing to wake up early and drive to get me.

My friends that are still at school - almost all of them tennis, then allowed me to stay in there home for four days - no questions asked. Seriously? Let me crash that long? They are such wonderful people.

On top of that, my entire "house" from my senior year, those who I lived with, heard I was coming back to Ithaca and all met me there Friday night for the weekend -traveling from Rochester, Buffalo, Long Island, and New Jersey. It's not often that people would be willing to drive those distances for such a short period of time. It really touched me. I'm lucky to have the friends that I do.

Speaking of traveling, then there is my Mom, who drove up late Thursday night, to only spend Friday with me, to drive all the way back to Boston. That's 12 hrs of driving, in less than a 24 hour period. That's not just dedication, that's pure love. Even though we had such a short amount of time together, we walked the campus, shopped in the commons, but most importantly just sat and talked...the whole day. It honestly felt like I had never left home. We just clicked and caught up. What an amazing woman. I can't wait to do it again.

I also got to see someone who is near and dear to me. During my senior year, in the second half of it, I grew close to a woman on the tennis team and I built a strong bond with her - to the point that I felt robbed that I only got to hang out with her for a number of weeks before school ended. I don't know why we hadn't clicked before but to me, it felt like a cruel joke since everything was just so easy with her. Hanging out, laughing, doing absolutely nothing - it still all felt right. Lucky for me, she was one of the people I was staying with. So, we caught up, and nothing more than that happened, but hearing her future plans, how well she is doing in school and on the team just made me so happy. As much as it sucks knowing that if I was a year younger, I would have had more time with her - it's nice knowing I was given to opportunity to create that kind of bond.

And finally we come to Les, my main man. Best friend shall I say? Absolutely. We picked up right where we left off, with a hug. We never had said our goodbyes when I graduated, but only a "see you later." My mom had always been right. College friends are the ones who stick with you. The ones who matter. Who last. Even though it had been a year and a half since I had left school, and I was living 3000 miles away, it felt like I had been hanging out with him the previous night. We laughed, we horsed around, we drank together. It made me feel like I had never left school. I have no doubt in my mind that we will always be friends and I hope at some point we can live close to one another. With all sincerity, we talked about it - aside from our respective brothers, we will be each other's best...best men at our weddings. He'll always be a life long friend and there is no greater feeling than what I felt the moment I walked into his apt and saw him - knowing that no matter how long we haven't spoken or seen each other, all the distance that had ever separated us, will automatically disappear. He's like family to me. I love the kid.

So what happened next? I had to leave and it was probably the single worst feeling in my life. The weekend was my love letter to Ithaca - after this year, all the remaining people I know will be gone so I essentially will have no reason to return, but that alright - I had my 4 years there, it is time that I let someone else have theirs.

It's also tough knowing I may never see some of my friends I saw this weekend again, or that by leaving,  I knew the bond I shared with Becky would always be there, but the opportunity would most likely be forever gone.

Sure - all these feelings suck. Some of the worst I've ever felt. But reflecting on the weekend, I know that I have those lifelong friends you always dream of having. I know I have a mother who will literally do anything for me, who loves me unconditionally, and will always be there for me.

More importantly, I know that Ithaca was the right choice for me.

It gave me the life I lead and the people that populate it.