Fourth grade, early 1996. I met my soulmate. Yasmin Julia Khan. We bonded over samosa’s from the canteen talking about how much we both liked R.L. Stine (I can’t believe I used to read that stuff). The first time I spent the night over at her house, my parents came to pick me up and lo and behold her grandfather and uncle’s started hugging my father because it turns out were somehow distantly related. So we happen to be long lost cousins who coincidentally became best friends =)
Yoshi (that's her nickname) came to visit me this past week for my birthday and also to spend some quality time with me before I leave. I hadn’t seen her since graduation and it's been over a year since then. We’ve gone long times without seeing each other before, but not recently. Not since college at least. We're used to the long distance relationship. But saying goodbye to her this time, was harder than its ever been. I woke up at 6 am to drop her off at the airport (after a week of staying up late and waking up early running around all of southern California). But I couldn’t go back to sleep =(
It was a slap in the face saying goodbye. But it also didn't seem like I was only saying goodbye to her. I ran through all the goodbye’s I’m going to be saying very soon. Less than two months now. 27 months is a really long time... and I know it's not like I won't see anyone that entire time. But I feel like everyone's lives are like these bubbles, and for the next 2 and something year's I'm going to be stepping outside of these bubbles. And stepping back in isn't going to be easy. And even though I know I'm the one getting up and leaving, I'm the one off to do something that won't include any of the people that have been a part of my life so far, I feel like I'm the one that's going to be forgotten or not needed.
I've never known when the next time I was going to see Yasmin would be when we say goodbye. But I've also always known that it didn't matter. We always pick up where we left off. I think that's what scares me. I'm afraid I'm going to change so much that I won't be able to just 'pick up'.
I hung out with Sajid the other night. He' just got back from Umrah and Tanzania and is here for a couple of days before heading to volunteer in India. He climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro! And went on a safari in the Serengeti. So he was telling us all about the experience, the people, the climb, the animals. Everything. But he was able to share it. And it was nice to be able to have him tell us all about his experience. And even though I've never done anything even remotely close to what he did, it wasn't like I couldn't understand what he was trying to get across. But from what I've heard I won't be able to share the same way when I return. So not only am I stepping out of these bubbles for so long, I'm almost cutting myself off from the people in my life. I'm cutting out over 2 years of experiences that I'm afraid I won't be able to share with them.
I think I'm being over dramatic though. And what's wrong with having an experience just to myself anyway?
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