Last Day of my Adolescence

Photographed on 6/3/2023 - 6/5/2023

Published on 6/17/2023

About four years ago I met one of the best friends I have ever had. I was laying on the bed in my college dorm in the dark. It was the last day of move in weekend. It was the middle of one of the worst heatwaves I've ever experienced. The door was open and every fan in the room was cranked to the max. Someone knocked on the door. I sat up. The man who would become my best friend and roommate was in the doorway. He asked if I had any ketchup. I did not. He asked if I wanted to eat fries and drink choccy milk. I said sure.

Over the past four years we have been the best of friends. We have talked and drank and hiked and laughed for countless hours. We have been roommates for the past two years. We took over our apartment lease from two of our friends who we had dinner parties with. Our lease is coming to an end within two weeks. We will both be leaving the town we met and went to college in. Our adult lives are beginning.

Since our freshman year we have been fans of the musical stylings of Australian jam band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Earlier this year we found out they were playing at the Caverns Amphitheater in Tennessee. We knew we had to go. We got tickets for the only night of the show that was not sold out along with a car camping pass so that we could camp there. The date was set for our journey.

Somewhere along the way we realized that the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid (aka the Seventh Tallest Pyramid in the world) was on the other side of Tennessee. After a short discussion on the logistics of travel, we decided to add another leg to the trip. On Saturday, June 3rd, 2023 Garret and I started our nine our drive from one side of Tennessee to the other side.

We stopped at a Buc-ee's gas station on the way. We stopped at the Pyramid. We camped at a KOA in Arkansas. We ate breakfast in Memphis. We went to the Gizzard concert. It was incredible. We met wonderful people there. All those hours we spent together in the car are precious to me. The memories we made on this trip are priceless to me. The day we returned to our apartment was the Last Day of my Adolescence. It was the conclusion of my college life and a farewell to my beloved roommate.

Garret, I will miss you. Thank you for being the best roommate I could ask for. College would not have been the same without you. I'll see you later.

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