I heard my parents talking this morning about plans for the summer. They want to go back to Taiwan for a month. Normally, I'd greet such a vacation with irrepressible enthusiasm; but this morning when I heard we'd be going back for so long I felt so sad that I actually surprised myself. Eating out at delicious restaurants every day and shopping at night markets to my heart's content, spending time with relatives and cousins and falling into the habit of speaking fluent Mandarin. When have I ever thought about these experiences with apprehension?
It's only January and the fear of losing my friends (and losing what I see now as "precious" time with them) is already starting to creep up on me. I hear alumni talk about their friends - except now they always differentiate between "high school friends" and "college friends." I don't want to turn my back for a second and suddenly realize that my "friends" have become "high school friends" - as if they were a thing of the past. I know I don't really share this blog with many of my friends but if you are a friend (even one who I'm not close with) I hope you realize how much I value your friendship. I know I'm not the type to throw my feelings out in the open very often, but believe me, I am more attached to the people in my life than they will ever know, and as much as I love Taiwan, I sincerely hope I spend the bulk of my summer right here in East Brunswick with the people I love most.
