I visited Arkansas for the last time for a long while. Where else could visiting with a friend consist of walking through Walmart for an hour and a half (none of us planning on making a purchase)?
I never visit Arkansas and then think to myself "I should have done something else this weekend." It's always worthwhile. Or, at least, it is this last time. It might still be nice if I visit in four months. I doubt it will still be as nice in two to four to seven years. People change, move, become worse or better. But at this point, most were still worth being around, and I learned things about myself and others that I wouldn't have learned otherwise. That is a great measure of whether you should be around particular people.
I also visited Tulsa, where I said goodbye to a good friend (the only roommate I ever chose) who will also be leaving the country to go to school for years.
It's a weird feeling, all of this. It's not like graduating high school or college, where there's a chance to ease out of where you're at with occasional visits. I'm going to an island and the world, along with the people I knew in it, will be very different by the time I see them again. Some will likely be married. Some might even have children. A lot are similar to me, getting out of a sucky phase of life to one that, though also sucky, is also filled with purpose, which makes it all worthwhile.
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