Visiting somewhere for the first and last time

Another close call, but I got it! So, tonight's blog will be based on the a tumblr post which poses the following: "I wonder what places I have already visited for the last time." Take a moment to let that question sink in.

Truth be told, I've arrived at this thought before through a somewhat roundabout way. I've thought about my memory and while much of my memory is important things like life skills, names of important people, my own significant milestones, some of my memory has written itself in irrelevance. When I'm having this mental experience, this manifested itself in two ways: skills I used at old jobs, and the layouts of places I probably won't visit again.

Let's just throw some random examples out there. There was the house where a high school friend lived and she would have people over for an interdenominational Bible study group. There was the storage unit my college roommate's dad owned, which we turned into a film set freshman year. There was the high school in Kansas City where I would take the math team and we would have monthly competitions in the cafeteria.

Of course, there are some places that I only remember snippets of, but at the same time, they could fall under those "places I have already visited for the last time". I can go really obscure with random gas stations and restaurants along my way during various road trips and vacations. I could have a section on the list be devoted to different high schools because of the clubs I was in during high school, not to mention the places I would take teams of students from the Missouri Academy.

This easily lends itself to the thought where the random spots you only knew of for 5 minutes can be the most important places in the world for other people. Those places are where other people eat, work, hang out, and live out their lives. Flip this on its head and realize that the most important places in my life could also be those quick trips or "passing through spots" for other people and AHH!

Well, this is a fun existential experiment. At least it's not filled with dread regarding the fate of the universe or something like that. Fortunately, this can make me feel closer to others as a whole, because my opportunities to travel and explore can help me experience what it means to live in another world, so to speak. Yeah, that's a positive way to think about it. Let's go with that.

Oh wow, tomorrow has a lot of holidays: Eeyore's birthday, hug a plumber, dancing, penguins, the Red Hat Society, sense of smell, veterinarians, and even license plates. Hopefully everyone can find something they like. At least there are a lot of options.

DFTBA