The other day Timehop shared with me some memories of which had been forgotten except apparently to Abe the Dino. It was of times at an old apartment I had. Looking at the random pictures I realized that I missed that old apartment. It's not that I am not in a better place now, because I am. That apartment was my first real time moving out. A buddy and I got the place by just barely beating the credit check. It was going to be us and our two girlfriends living with us but the girls quickly realized that they wanted nothing to do with our Bachelor pad plans.
The fridge had only ranch dressing and cheap beers in it. We never cooked, and I am pretty sure we were late on rent more than once due to the need for more Little Caesar's Pizzas and Taco Bell. The dining room table was an air hockey table. Sports memorabilia adorned the walls without taste.
We played video games too much, as it was amazing what problems could be ignored over marathon sessions of Madden or NBA 2k. There was a $70 Kmart futon, bought with my employee discount, which was all we had to sit on. I liked it because if you leaned back it would often give way and transform from couch to bed which made for the perfect transition from Netflix to chill (It was all that successful as the apartment was perpetually 120 degrees).
Eventually my roommate moved out to settle down with his girlfriend (now wife), but I stayed. Girls came and went. Some would try to change me and the apartment. I even bought a bigger mattress and laundry set with one (That was a close one) but it didn't last. The television was never on for anything but sports and video games. We had some fun parties around the air hockey table, like Christmas in July or a Snuggie Party. There was a Meijer just across a hill which made for quick beer runs trying to beat the clock to 2 am. We had to stay in to party because we were too broke to go out and using the 10 cent deposits on the empty cans would buy us another Hot-N-Ready or two.
I still can't believe how far a two week paycheck from Kmart which was much too weak would last me. A 25 hour work week seemed like a killer while trying to balance a community college course load. I will never forget the time that while studying for an exam, some friends and I decided to study at my apartment which quickly became two people, four people, and then twelve people all playing air hockey over studying.
After a couple of years, I had grown and decided to move out of the apartment. I left that apartment and now I wonder how many different things that, that apartment has been to so many different people. What I saw at the time as challenges seem so trivial now. I wish that those were the most of my concerns these days. It occurs to me now, there was nothing special about that apartment. It was just your typical four walls in an apartment complex. But what that apartment represented is what made it special. It represented freedom from my Dad, it represented growth and good times. It was filled with memories and friends in a time before life was filled with work and studying for classes.
So my advice to you is, enjoy your small dorms and your small apartments. You have your whole lives to be burdened by the pursuit of land and prosperity. Enjoy these times where you have more smiles than worries and more laughs than money in the bank
