The reason my friends leaving is bothering me can be traced back to elementary school. See, my "class" (Class of 1999!) in elementary school had about 110 students, give or take a few. Now, maybe I don't remember very clearly, but I feel like very few people entered or left the school during my couple of years there. I then went to a middle school on the opposite side of town, so few people from my elementary school joined me in middle school. There might've been new--as in moved recently to the area--people there, but I wouldn't have known. The people I spent time with in middle school was relatively small, and I once again don't remember anyone moving into or out of the area from my crowd. And then I went to high school in a town over--again, with very few people from my middle school and no one from my elementary school--so I don't know who was new and who was not.
Why am I bringing this up? Well, growing up, I don't think I ever really had to deal with friends moving away. Maybe I did, but like I said, I don't remember it if I did. When I went off to college, it was me deciding to move away, so the scattering of my friends wasn't all their doing, but just as much mine. And then I didn't go back home and stayed in the DC area, so it was my fault again, I suppose. Post-college, it's obvious not everyone is going to stick around, so the dispersal of my friend group around the country didn't bother me all that much...it was expected, actually.
I've spent the last four years with a relatively static friend group based in the DC area. Yeah, there's been some shuffling, but it's more or less held, and for those who did go away, there was a feeling that they might--could?--return soon. Not anymore. The "permanence," as it will, of people moving away in their mid- to late-20s is becoming more obvious to me. Friends are moving for jobs, or grad school that turns into jobs at the location of their grad school. The dispersal is starting anew as I watch my friends pursue great, new opportunities not in the DC area.
And I refuse to accept it. Perhaps it's because I know I'm not going anywhere, or if I do, it'd be for a short timeframe. Maybe I'm taking this harder than I should, but I don't like that some of my best friends in DC are moving away with no guaranteed return date. If only my opinions on the matter were the deciding factors for all of them. C'est la vie, I suppose.
So last night I went to a going away party for some of these friends (which doubled as a Happy Birthday America party), and it was a great time...reinforcing why I don't want them to go. But on their rooftop is a large chessboard and, especially after a little glass of wine, was just screaming "WIZARD'S CHESS" so of course I took the place of the king while two others played out the game in the rain. Super fun. Despite the terrible acting, this scene is super fun and I wish I could partake in a massive game of wizard's chess:
Why am I bringing this up? Well, growing up, I don't think I ever really had to deal with friends moving away. Maybe I did, but like I said, I don't remember it if I did. When I went off to college, it was me deciding to move away, so the scattering of my friends wasn't all their doing, but just as much mine. And then I didn't go back home and stayed in the DC area, so it was my fault again, I suppose. Post-college, it's obvious not everyone is going to stick around, so the dispersal of my friend group around the country didn't bother me all that much...it was expected, actually.
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| The view from the rooftop on which we played Wizard's Chess. That's the Washington Monument in the background. |
And I refuse to accept it. Perhaps it's because I know I'm not going anywhere, or if I do, it'd be for a short timeframe. Maybe I'm taking this harder than I should, but I don't like that some of my best friends in DC are moving away with no guaranteed return date. If only my opinions on the matter were the deciding factors for all of them. C'est la vie, I suppose.
So last night I went to a going away party for some of these friends (which doubled as a Happy Birthday America party), and it was a great time...reinforcing why I don't want them to go. But on their rooftop is a large chessboard and, especially after a little glass of wine, was just screaming "WIZARD'S CHESS" so of course I took the place of the king while two others played out the game in the rain. Super fun. Despite the terrible acting, this scene is super fun and I wish I could partake in a massive game of wizard's chess:
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