Nostalgia

My family obligations bind me to doing a lot of things that I really hate doing, like visiting my pretentious grandfather and his new rich wife, when I know that they don't really like me. It turns out that I do like spending time with most of my family, we just never do anything. This is why it puzzles me when my mother gets angry that I'm never home. We're hardly a family-oriented bunch. Why pretend that we are? I'm perfectly fine on my own for the most part (as well as a teenager can do on their own, that is). However, tonight, my family obligations took me back a few years through a children's play. To support my brother, I went to see The Wild Wildest West, where he was playing the lead bad guy, Snidely Dastardly. Nowadays, I realize that Children's Theater is about as soaked with politics as theater programs can get, but back then, it was such a big deal to me. That's where my love of theater was born. I owe half of who I am to stuff that I learned in those days. Watching it tonight, it seemed so small and insignificant compared to what I do at the high school and with Chris, but to most of those kids, it's all they have. I remember when it was all I had, how different I was then. But I think it's all stages of life that get us to where we are. Today, I got to do a lot of thinking, not just about old lifestyles and friends, but of where I am now. Interesting conversations with Chris about boys and marriage kind of had me revisit my own personal romantic pursuits. Nothing's changed, but it led to a few good smiles.

For now, I guess, I'll stick to what I know, and leave the messy world of romance alone. Actually, I'm quite pleased at how much simpler my life is when I don't think about it. Right now, I'm just glad that my brother is so happy in what he's doing, because that will be really important later. He's going to be a freshman after I graduate. I swear, it'll be like I never left.