Last week, I made my last drive to my summer job. This week, I said goodbye to my hometown friends. Last night, I made my last late-night food run with some of my closest friends. Today, for the last time, I said saying goodbye to my hometown as a place I live. Of course I will come back, but it won't be the same because it will only be for holidays and visits.
When I was driving to work, I was surprisingly aware that it was the final time I would be making that drive. It was the perfect morning, and as I passed by some of the most important places in my life for that last time, I sort of reminisced.
First I passed by the Dairy Queen that I worked at for two whole horrible years, and it brought back some of the funniest, most ridiculous memories of my teenage years, like when I was forced to sit on the floor in the grill area and use a toothbrush to scrub the bottom of a cart for three hours.
After that, I passed the gas station where I got Coke slushies every single day after my summer job to cool down.
As I got onto the interstate, I drove by the soccer complex where I played all of my high school soccer games and most of my club games throughout my life. It made me sad to think about some of the best times in my life thus far. Some of my best friends played by my side under the lights at those fields, and we played some of the biggest games of our lives there.
My high school was the next place I passed by on my drive - the place where I spent four agonizing and amazing years that I'll never get back, and wouldn't want to. I really found myself there, and that was where I made some of my fondest memories, like the day it snowed so much that all of our cars were stuck in the parking lot, except for my one friend who had a suburban. By the time open lunch came around, a couple feet of snow was blocking cars in, but about 10 friends and I hopped in the suburban and drifted through the streets. At that moment, there was nothing better and it's a moment I'll never forget. State championships were won at that high school, and really, all we did was have fun there. How could I not be just a little sad while driving by it?
Finally, I pulled into the parking lot of my summer job at YMCA Leif Ericson Day Camp, a place where I've spent two summers working and numerous summers years ago as a camper; I couldn't help but think how lucky I am to have lived in such an amazing place. In Sioux Falls, I got to work at a place that made work seem like fun, play soccer with my best friends, eat tons of ice cream and live in a city that is perfect for a family.
As excited as I am to be back at school and get back into my normal college routine, I'm really going to miss that place. Sioux Falls, South Dakota will always hold a very special place in my heart and I can't thank my parents enough for raising me there.
