I was asked recently about what makes me sad. What gets me down?

I didn't have to think too hard about the answer. I know that I start to feel down when I look at old photos, think of old friends and realize that we no longer are on the same campus. We don't see each other anymore in the same classes and meetings. We don't live on the same hill, residence hall, apartment or even within a mile or two of each other in Palms.

The folks I started at UCLA with (Chispa, Ome, Pato, Nahui, Isa, Ralph, Victor, Chalio, Laura, Andrea, Erika, Maria, and Armando) have all graduated by now. We're either out working in the "real world" or working on graduate and professional degrees.

I'm extremeley proud of my group of friends, but it still makes me sad to know that I haven't seen Nahui since March when I visited Ann Arbor and the U of Michigan. Chalio is in med school in Iowa. Chispa is away at law school in San Francisco. Vane is teaching in Oakland. Ralph moved back to the bay to teach at a community college.

Even the ones who are still around and live in LA, I rarely see. We're all busy with school, our jobs, families, significant others, etc.

I miss them. A lot. I think I miss Chispa the most. I think about them a lot as I make new friends and interact with new people in my program and in the School of Education. The new people are great, but something is missing. I don't get a sense of family and with folks like Chispa, Ome, Isa, Nahui and Pato I feel like they're family. Even after knowing them only six weeks I knew we were going to be friends for a very long time. I don't know if that's the case right now. I know we'll be colleagues, but not best friends.

Man... I'd love to recreate one of these photos, but things are so different now. I got to accept that.

Me siento: nostalgic
Escuchando: chocolate city on kcrw

M�s reciente:
Searches - 09.16.05
the big move - 07.29.05
mother and daughter: a comparative analysis - 07.28.05
jardineros y dom�sticas - 07.27.05
tough question - 07.25.05

antes // despu�s