COMPLETED. A university student. A professional hockey player. They've proved they can be friends. Can they be more?
Although they're both in their early twenties and living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, their lives couldn't be more different. Cami...
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Life without Taylor was life.
Just a little sadder.
When you really think about how little we can accurately predict what's going to happen in our lives, it's scary. Four months ago, I never would have imagined that I'd meet, let alone strike a friendship with, a professional hockey player. And neither myself nor that player could predict that he'd be traded in the first week of January. And, continuing with the trend, if you had told me that I'd feel this strongly about someone I hadn't even known for half a year, I wouldn't have believed you.
And if you had said that that person would be a guy, I would've choked.
In many ways since Taylor packed up and left for Toronto, my life hasn't changed. I'm in the same city, living with the same people, and going to the same school. The only thing that's changed is Taylor's presence.
Turns out, that one thing is a huge thing.
The funny thing is, Taylor and I seem to be as connected as when he was in Winnipeg. We text as often as we can and FaceTime each other at least twice a week. It's not that often, because we have the complicated task of coordinating our schedules—his practices and games, my classes and exams, his naps, and my naps. But the effort is there, for sure.
And yet, it's not nearly enough. I don't care what any social media site or cell phone provider says, there really is no substitute for face-to-face interaction. In my opinion, people really underestimate the power of touch. Even if it's minimal or casual or platonic, the welcomed touch from someone you love is healing. (I'm not making that up, either. Read any psychology textbook and it'll confirm it.)
But because I don't have the luxury of being within touching distance of Taylor, I'm trying to do the next best thing. Connect myself with as much virtual Taylor as possible.
Hence, why I've begun to stalk him on social media. I'm talking following along with all the sports blogs and outlets and reading all the Taylor articles and watching all the interview clips.
Can I even call that stalking? I mean, these sites do put up this content for the public to view. True, but I don't think they meant for people to consume that content by refreshing the page ten times in one minute, waiting for the next thing to be posted.
What can I say? I'm strategic. And desperate. I know that the post-game media scrums of the players are posted on the Toronto Saints' official YouTube channel about half-hour after the game ends. So, whenever that time arrives, I go on the page and refresh, refresh, refresh.
I can honestly say that I've seen every single video clip that featured Taylor Hudson. In my defense, there's not an insane amount and they tend to be short. Whenever I take a study break, I check my trusty sources. Then, I wait until I'm alone in my room at night and watch them before bad.
Is that pathetic? Am I doing something wrong by doing this? I want to tell myself that it's not, that I'm not, but then if that was the case, why haven't I told Taylor I do this? Why do I check to ensure that my headphones are working properly before I press play, because I'd rather my family catch me watching the naughty scenes from Fifty Shades of Grey than Taylor content?
