I wake up every morning and I'm never really sure. What if I had taken that opportunity in Chicago?
I think back to senior year at Centre. The tears that streamed down her face as we talked about what going to Chicago would mean for us. She told me about friends that had done Teach for America, and the horror stories terrified me, but the curiosity was still there.
At that point, I wasn't 100% sure about me and Kelly. She had definitely changed my life though, for the better. Our first date was at Old Owl Tavern - we sat on the side porch next to the fireplace at a little wire-grated table for two. I got a barbecue sandwich and she got a salad, only to later say that she wished that she had gotten barbecue but was too nervous. I was terrified and in some sort of disbelief that she would come on a date with me. She was everything that night. I remember her smile most vividly; it was plastered from ear to ear, and her laugh was contagious and giddy. We were an unlikely pair, but for some reason, it worked. We came back to campus that night and I nervously told her I would find her out at the houses.
I don't know why, but I feel like I remember more about her than any other girl I have ever dated. I remember nervously getting her phone number in front of Pearl about a week prior to our first date. I remember us taking our first picture together in front of Hillside during one of the first weekends of my senior year. I remember the SAE president's room and taking pulls of Red Stag with an amazing crew, and Kelly tripping down the stairs next to the founders garden. She was wearing a black and white dress, and never before had someone so clumsy been so endearing and attractive.
But then I opened that email and my heart sank. "You have been accepted to Teach for America." Then I saw, "Chicago Region - High School Mathematics." It was exactly what I had wanted, and at the same time, it was exactly what I didn't want. It was right around November 8th, but I already knew that Kelly and I were going to become something special over the next several months.
I pour another cup of coffee in our apartment. I bring her a cup of tea and and jump back into bed. She scratches my scruff and sits up in her oversized t-shirt, crossing her legs and facing me as I sip slowly. We laugh and she tells me about her dreams from the night before, and I push the loose strands of long brown hair back over her ear. I think back to holding her in my arms in the foyer of Ruby Cheek house on the night that I turned it down. I was wearing my Phi Tau sweatshirt, sweatpants and Wallabees, and she was having a Footloose sweatshirt kind of day. We just stood there holding each other, and I knew that even though it had only been two months, that I was holding onto someone that would be by my side for the rest of my life.
I think back to senior year at Centre. The tears that streamed down her face as we talked about what going to Chicago would mean for us. She told me about friends that had done Teach for America, and the horror stories terrified me, but the curiosity was still there.
At that point, I wasn't 100% sure about me and Kelly. She had definitely changed my life though, for the better. Our first date was at Old Owl Tavern - we sat on the side porch next to the fireplace at a little wire-grated table for two. I got a barbecue sandwich and she got a salad, only to later say that she wished that she had gotten barbecue but was too nervous. I was terrified and in some sort of disbelief that she would come on a date with me. She was everything that night. I remember her smile most vividly; it was plastered from ear to ear, and her laugh was contagious and giddy. We were an unlikely pair, but for some reason, it worked. We came back to campus that night and I nervously told her I would find her out at the houses.
I don't know why, but I feel like I remember more about her than any other girl I have ever dated. I remember nervously getting her phone number in front of Pearl about a week prior to our first date. I remember us taking our first picture together in front of Hillside during one of the first weekends of my senior year. I remember the SAE president's room and taking pulls of Red Stag with an amazing crew, and Kelly tripping down the stairs next to the founders garden. She was wearing a black and white dress, and never before had someone so clumsy been so endearing and attractive.
But then I opened that email and my heart sank. "You have been accepted to Teach for America." Then I saw, "Chicago Region - High School Mathematics." It was exactly what I had wanted, and at the same time, it was exactly what I didn't want. It was right around November 8th, but I already knew that Kelly and I were going to become something special over the next several months.
