Good-bye

Good-bye New York

Good-bye 2 train
Good-bye loud iPods
Good-bye subway preachers
Good-bye subway beggars
Good-bye subway singers

Good-bye Brooklyn Bridge
Good-bye random languages
Good-bye sweaty tourists
Good-bye cranky people from outer boroughs

Good-bye Manhattan
Good-bye three dollar hot dogs
Good-bye fifty dollar nights at the club
Good-bye speed-walkers
Good-bye chihuahuas

Good-bye Flatbush
Good-bye P.S. 269
Good-bye energetic children
Good-bye Key Food
Good-bye Derby Liquors
You'll miss me the most

Good-bye Brooklyn College
Good-bye red tape
Good-bye confusion
Good-bye hypersomnia

Good-bye car alarms
Good-bye one-night stands
Good-bye parades
Good-bye police sirens

Good-bye victory
But good-bye defeat
In the end
It'll all be okay

What I've Learned

*Be present. Whether you are at [redacted] High School, partying it up in small-town Wisconsin, or ostensibly living your dream in New York City, it will not last. And you will miss it.

*You can blame your mother for all your unhappiness, but it's not gonna change anything.

But seriously, I'm still pissed.

*You can beat depression on your own, but it sucks. Be honest with yourself and others.

*While it is important to value the opinions of friends, family, and insensitive but well-meaning pop music superstars you meet on the way, in the end your opinion of yourself is most important.

*It's not a race.

When It Rains It Pours

*I had visitors for a week. It was about three days too long as the entire time they fought with each other. One walked too fast, one constantly berated my appearance. Le sigh.

*I spilled Mike's Hard Lemonade on my laptop. It is currently at the computer hospital, and I have no guarantees. I feel like a mother whose child is in a coma.

*I am moving back home in three weeks. If I survive a two-day road trip with my mother I will let you know.

*It's gonna be okay. I think. Life is a journey, and mine has just temporarily gone off the road.