“You never leave a place you love. You take a part of it with you, and you leave part of you behind”
Leaving a place you once called home is never easy. Melancholy sneaks upon you as you visit the spots that gave you peace and comfort one more time, as you remember all the days and nights you’ve spent as your most carefree self, and as you say goodbye to the people that you grew so insanely close with during this time. You shut the door, turn around once more, and you feel as though what used to be your life is slowly fading through your fingers like quicksand. You get that strange feeling that you will not only miss the people you love and the places you went to, but also who you are as a person at this very point in your life, because essentially, you will never be this way again.
But no matter how far away this place might be from you, you have never left it completely. Memories, and the people you’ve shared them with, stay with you wherever you go. In essence, this time has shaped your approach to future tasks. And even though we grow, learn and change over the course of our lives, it it sometimes nice to relive old times with the people you initially experienced them with – it will feel like you never left, even just for a little while.
Coming back to Miami after almost three years truly felt like the “good old days”. Back then it marked a time of immense personal growth, yet it signified a period in my life where I could mainly be a child, having days filled with breezy laughter and carefreeness. A time which never came around like that again. But more often than not, we only realize how good a time really was once it lays behind us. Life progresses, it forces us to keep up with its pace. We experience our first heartbreaks, know how it feels to be alone, and are unwillingly driven to be our strongest self yet. Visiting my old home felt like letting go of everything that has happened after I left, and in a sense just being the “child” again that I was back then.
Our past experiences make us to who we are today, that’s why I believe it to be so important to reconnect with old roots from time to time. Reuniting with all my friends felt like none of us has grown older, that no time has passed at all. We did things just like we used to – went to the places we watched the sunsets on Friday nights and the waterfront in Brickell, where the moon over Miami reflects upon the endless ocean.
I also got to see sides of Miami that I hadn’t before. We went to the Wynwood Art District in the north of Miami, home to over 70 art galleries and museums. Their work was truly impressive!
We all change. Especially at our age we constantly discover new ways to express ourselves. Yet what I’ve learnt it that there is no stronger bond than our friendship with people we shared defining years with. Always keep these friendships close, as they play an essential role in the story of your life.
And just like the moon over Miami are these friendships not always visible or constantly available, yet you can be sure that they are always there, shining in their full light when you return to them.
Life doesn’t always have to move forward. Take time to reminisce in old times, dance the nights away, let the sand carry your bare feet and let loose for just a little while.
Love,
Joana
Joana Serein 