Think back to a time that you vividly remember yourself being extremely happy. Why were you so happy? How long did it last? Was the past better than the present? We hear countless stories of how the olden days was better time to grow up. Take for example my hometown, Roanoke Rapids, NC. Today Roanoke Rapids faces a plethora of problems stemming from economic woes and a lack of sustainable industry to match the rising costs of living. In the US Census Report of 2012 Roanoke Rapids ranked the 3rd poorest city in America.
My parents have been fortunate enough to find employment in the area with my Mom working in the school district and my Father working as an electrical superintend for a number of wood pellet plants throughout Eastern North Carolina. I hear many stories from my parents who grew up in Roanoke Rapids, they always paint a starkly different picture of the town than what I have experienced. Industry was booming with the textile mills, stores that were nationally recognized, a thriving downtown area, and plenty of helpful hands. Fast forward to the textile mills being exported overseas and a staple of income and employment in the area was no where to be found. The town has never recovered from the loss of this industry.
To answer some of the questions I posed at the beginning, I can pinpoint a time in my life when I felt like I had it all. It was the first semester of my sophomore year at NC State. Everything seemed to be going all so smoothly. School was going great as that semester I made all A’s, I had a great group of friends, working with the basketball team was great, and I fell in love with a great girl.
A part of me wishes a GMC Delorean would pull up curbside and take me back to that specific time. What changed you may ask? Why wasn’t the second semester just as good? Well I decided to go serve a mission for my church in Las Vegas, a monumental decision that I don’t regret one bit. Did the mission turn out as I had hoped? That’s a difficult question. I learned a lot in the 4 months that I was there. I think in some roundabout way my happiness and freedom that I enjoyed that semester prior to leaving made things especially difficult for me.
A little background about myself is that I am of the Mormon faith. It is common place for males ages 18-26 to go serve a two year mission. The whole purpose of the mission is to help people and share your beliefs with others. I loved the actual missionary work of talking and helping people deal with many questions that we all have. Where did we come from? What is our purpose? Where are we going? However in a mission certain guidelines are in place to keep you focused on the work and in the moment. I struggled with some of these guidelines and yearned to be back at NC State with all of my friends and my family. Long story short I made the choice to come home.
As I returned I found things a little different, sure my family was still great and my friends were still there and I was able to pick things back up with the girl I loved. However a lesson I have learned since that time is this, enjoy the journey. No matter how much I wanted to recapture the moments of that first semester of my sophomore year, I couldn’t. Each day is a new set of challenges, opportunities, and memories. Make the most of your days!
Jump ahead to today, that semester is 4 years gone. It is mind bottling thinking that it was 4 years ago. I have grown and changed a lot since. Something will never change though and somethings can’t be taken away! I will always hold those memories from that semester close to my heart.
Whatever happened to that great girl that I loved so much? Did things work out? Are we together today? Did we continue to date after that second semester? She is out there…
In the meantime don’t rush time, you can never get it back!
Nunc Coepi 