Suddenly, I found myself on a joyride cruising the Pennsylvania roads. Rock musing blaring on 103.7, familiar hits tapping nostalgia, windows drawn open.

–

It was just six years ago that I was driving down Washington Street. The sun shined brightly on my 2000 Toyota Camry, a blueish-turquoise that today’s Toyota dealerships don’t have in stock. The car’s name was Tom, after the New England hero, both with similar dreams of retiring in Florida.

Those days, I was near-broke. My bank account resembled a groundhog, popping in and out as bi-weekly checks were cashed into rent and long-lost cryptocurrencies that never turned a dime.

Extracurriculars are expensive, which led to unique hobbies. Excursions for free stuff on CraigsList. Retro video game store hunting. Pencil and paper Dungeons and Dragons.

It all sounds like a nerd without a wallet. It was.

But… that might just be the point.

And so, on a warm Sunday, there really was nothing better to do than drive.

Normally, this was the path to work. Driving to the Orange Line in order to grab the closest spot to the train, to get to South Street.

Today, this was the path to freedom. Driving to the Burger King in order to grab the cheapest burger on the menu, to get to the next meal.

As Tom Brady drove by, not a single pedestrian turned their head. When prompted, they recalled “two singers, one out of tune”.

–

What a difference six years makes.

As someone focused on progress, advancement, and agency, I could say that I’d done my job.

There was not an apartment to return to, but a home. Hobbies had changed from gambling cryptocurrencies to creating them. I had upgraded from CraigsList to Amazon.

Is this what it feels like to age?

Shadowy reflection with experience?

All of a sudden, it doesn’t seem so lost anymore.

Even though life gets unbearble, it never runs away. We live carrying our values, virtues, and achievements alongside us. If we act in kind, we are rewarded. If not, we wear it forever.

The scale of it all is incomprehensible. While there’s nothing we can do, there are some things we can do. The contradictory nature is almost calming.

There’s something yet to be done.

–

I blink, and I’m back to the Pennsylvania road.

Time to go home.