Back in Atlanta

I'll never forget the first summer I spent back in Atlanta after my freshman year at Clemson. I was 18 years old with a whole new world behind me. The school year had gone by in a blur eerily similar to the traffic flying past me on the opposite side of I-85. Almost a full year of parties, new people, new friendships and new experiences had made Clemson seem like my new home and Atlanta more like a place of the past.

I pulled in to the driveway at my Dad's house with a truck packed half as full as when I had left for Clemson in August, your freshman year has a way of eliminating the weak. I was pissed off that I let the futon frame sit in the rain two days before, but that rust wasn't going to go away if I bitched about it. I hopped out of my truck and walked inside to a familiar sight. An empty living room, with sounds of intense scenes of war violence coming from the basement. My brother and I had turned the basement in to a gaming paradise right before I left for school. HDTV, surround sound and a memory foam "Lovesak" that filled almost half the room. I went down to the basement and we talked for a little about the usual stuff: Mom and Dad arguing, school, sports and then he turned off the XBOX and we went out to the driveway to shoot some hoops. First to 21 was our game and I kept my undefeated streak alive.

After my first two weeks at home I decided it was time to get a job. Having absolutely no qualifications I decided I would just throw my resume at retail stores until someone decided I was worth it. Eventually, the good folks at Abercrombie decided I was worthy to fold clothes in their fine establishment. Lucky for me they had a good crew. Mostly normal kids just like me, trying to make some money. They had a couple of over the top members, but the rest of us just ignored their insanity. They were a good group of friends, but I missed my group from Clemson.

Lucky for me two of my best friends from Clemson lived in Atlanta. Alex had taken an job working on a community outreach program run through his church called Metro Atlanta Project - MAP for short - and Ross was living every 18-22 yr olds dream job up on Lake Lanier parking and cleaning boats all summer. Every Friday I would drive up to Lake Lanier to party with Ross, and most times Alex would come with me. It didn't matter if there were fifty people at the house or five, there was always a spot for me to sleep. We have some great memories from that summer; the kind that will last a lifetime.

I guess it was about the end of July when I realized why everything felt so different in Atlanta. I had spent all my time at Clemson trying to create a new life, and I had completely succeeded. To everyone from Clemson I was an outgoing, social person; a far cry from the person I was while I lived in Atlanta.  I had worked so hard to create a new life in Clemson that it seemed weird to come back to Atlanta and be surrounded by all the reminders of my old life. The routines, the traffic, the shortcuts for the traffic, all reminded me of a time in my life that was gone. That summer was the time that I realized you can be whoever you want to be you.