𝑌𝑒𝑎ℎ, 𝑀𝑒 𝑇𝑜𝑜 (𝑂𝐶 + 𝑃𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑟)

moments

Senses. Everyone has them. Most of the time I ignore them. Tune out and never think into how I'm feeling. It's a comfortable existence being numb. You don't feel anything, so nothing can hurt you.

The Cold settling into my bones through my jacket. Dewy fog sinking into my pores. The smell of cold, clean ocean air making my nose freeze up. Hearing the shore move back in forth in a never ending pull of strength. Tasting the familiar and comforting salty air. New York City. The Big Apple. All that good stuff. The place where we just moved. So familiar but unrecognizable.

San Francisco is a lot like New York. The lazy fog rolling in the morning, bustling life, Chinatown and crowded streets with people always in a rush. Familiar. Untainted.

But Queens was different. It had different people, different places and a different feel. The street names unfamiliar to me, stores I haven't yet been inside. But wasn't that the point?

A fresh start. My Dad and I just couldn't part from city life. We loved San Francisco. It was home.

Fisherman's Warf in the morning. With already tired parents with young kids looking and running around the old docks and museums. My favorite coffee place in the ferry building and the place my uncles bought me fresh bread and cheese. When we took the ferries as a family to Oakland and Berkeley.

Chinatown was full of jewelers, glass makers, restaurants, vegetable stands and commercial stores. Full of good smells and treats. Fortune cookie factory a family favorite. Going into a small alley and walking into a heavenly place full of hot wafters. At least for me it's heaven. What can I say, I really like food.

Seeing the Bay Bridge light up at night. Illuminating the water and sky in a soft glow. The way the sun hits the golden gate at sunrise is a experience like no other and must be seen in person. It's a moment when ones soul just... settles. In a quiet calm. Feeling like no other. It makes you believe that life has a purpose. It makes the simple things in life stand out in stark contrast.

How many of these moments slip away. That we never truly have a grasp on life. It's only certain moments we look back on, that we say to ourselves, "that was a life well lived." I think true enlightenment is acknowledging that you lived life to the best capacity that you could. That you tried, you made an effort.

I haven't really done anything so far. All I have to account for yet, are small moments in time that tell me that I possibly have a purpose far greater than me. When I think about all my fears, that is what scares me most. That I won't live my life and I waste away at some 9 to 5. Not making a slight impact on the world, to prove I was here. That I did something with the time granted for me.

Even though San Francisco is my home. I'm glad we moved for many reasons. It's untainted by my mothers presence, we get a new start and I won't be living my live like an addict. Addicted to familiarity. I need to step out of my comfort zone. As much as I hate it.. it's what I need. To take risks and make more life worthy moments. That's why I am now calling Queens my home.

I don't have anything against Queens just some... reservations. Typical teenage stuff I guess. Oh will anyone want to be my friend, what if I don't like my new school, what if no one likes me etc. To that I just have to say. I WILL make friends. I hope at the very least school isn't boring. In the name of Mamma Mia.... *clears throat* "Screw'em if they can't take a joke!" God that move has so many lessons... Anyways, I just hope life doesn't suck too bad.

I sigh and tell my intrusive thoughts to go away and turn over in my bed in anticipation for my first day at Midtown School of Science and Technology.

                         _________________

Waking up was a whole other thing entirely. I am not a morning person. At all. My Mom was and she would always have to hassle me out of bed "Eh ya! Levantate ahora. Your going to miss breakfast. Your dad will eat it all and leave you nothing." She always said, tired of my stubborn need to stay in bed. At her warning I would always hop out of bed to claim my rightful portion. Again I love food.